[42] ちぎりき (Chigiriki)

 Poem Meaning and Background

Picture of 末の松山

ちぎりきな・かたみにそでを・しぼりつつ

chigiriki na・katami ni sode o・shibori tsutsu

すゑのまつやま・なみこさじとは

Sue no Matsuyama・nami kosaji to wa

〜清原元輔（Kiyohara no Motosuke）

Translation

Our sleeves were wet with tears

As pledges that our love —

Will last until

Over Sue's Mount of Pines

Ocean waves are breaking.

Meaning

The backstory to this poem is that it was written as a commission: a young man whose lover seemed to have had a change of heart asked the poet Kiyohara no Motosuke to write this poem for him to give to his lover. At the time, it was not uncommon for people to ask famous poets to write poems for them, especially when it came to expressing their feelings effectively to their partner. Here, the speaker of the poem is hoping to win back his lover with this expertly crafted poem. The poem shows his continued love and devotion which remains unchanged since the day the two lovers vowed tearfully that they would always love one another.

The very first word of the Japanese poem is 契り(chigiri), which means "pledge" or "vow", and it stands firmly in opposition to the feelings of the lover who experiencing this change of heart. It shows the speaker's sadness but also his unwillingness to believe that his lover would have broken this pledge of lasting love.  

In second verse of the poem, 末の松山 (Sue no Matsuyama) is a reference to a specific spot in Miyagi prefecture. The phrase 波こさじとは（nami kosaji to wa) is apparently a reference to a large earthquake and resulting tsunami that happened in 869, known as the 貞観地震(Jōgan jishin). It was an extremely powerful earthquake, and researchers believe its magnitude was on par with the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami which devastated large swaths of eastern Japan. Though the Jōgan jishin caused a tsunami which flooded large areas of land, it was apparently unable to overtake Sue's Mountain of Pines (末の松山). Therefore, the phrase taken as a whole is a hyperbole meant to represent an impossible occurrence, somewhat similar to the English phrases "when hell freezes over" or "when pigs fly". In this context, since it is impossible for waves to break over this mountain, the vow these lovers made is also unbreakable. This phrase was a well known reference at the time, so it can also be found in other poems.

Author

Kiyohara no Motosuke (908 - 990) is the father of Sei Shōnagon, author of [62] Yoo, who is also famous for writing "The Pillow Book".  He is also the grandson of Kiyohara no Fukayabu, author of [36] Natsu. He was selected as one of the 36 Immortals of Poetry and is also known for helping to compile the Gosen Wakashū, another famous poetry anthology.