Читать книгу Tosa Diary - Ki No Tsurayuki - Страница 7

THE TOSA DIARY

It is generally a man who writes what is called a Diary, but now a woman will see what she can do.¹

A. D. 935.

28 JAN. One year on the twenty-first day of the twelfth month a certain personage' left home at the Hour of the Dog (8.0 p.m.), which was the beginning of this modest record. He had just completed the usual period of four or five years as Governor of a Province; everything had been wound up, documents, &c., had been handed over, and now he was about to go down to the place of embarkation; for he was to travel on shipboard. All sorts of people, both friends and strangers, came to see him off, including many who had served him faithfully during the past years, and who sorrowed at the thought of losing him that day. There was endless bustle and confusion; and so with one thing and another the night drew on.

29 JAN. 22nd day—He prayed for a calm voyage to the Land of Izumi. Fujiwara no Tokisanē came to turn his horse's head',² although he was to travel by sea. Upper, middle, and lower classes all drank too heavily, and, wonderful to relate, there they were on the edge of the salt sea itself all useless and incompetent!³

30 JAN. 23rd day.—A certain man, called Yagi no Yasunori, although he was of too high rank to have been one of his regular attendants in the Province, openly made him a farewell present. Perhaps he had not made a very good Governor; but still, the country-folk usually on an occasion like this just said good-bye, and then disappeared; and here was a kind heart which was not ashamed to come back again. This word of praise for him is not due to the present he brought!

31 JAN. 24th day.—The Chief Priest made him a farewell present; and accordingly everybody, high and low, even the very boys, got so intoxicated, that those who did not know how to write one word found that their feet had playfully trodden the word ten' in the sand.⁴

1 FEB. 25th day.—A written invitation arrived from Government House,⁵ asking him to go and call. He accordingly went to call; and, what with one thing and another, all day and all night passed away pleasantly, till at last the day broke.

2 FEB. 26th day.—Still at Government House, where the entertainment grew boisterous; the host and even the servants became uproarious. With loud voices Chinese poems were declaimed; and the host, the visitor and the other guests recited Japanese verses. The Chinese poems are not recorded here;⁶ but the following is the Japanese verse composed by the Governor, as host:

From the Capital

Far across the sea I came,

Came to see my Lord;

But alas! 'twas all in vain,

For we now must part again.

Whereupon the former Governor' composed this in reply:

I, too, traveled far

O'er the stormy road of waves

White with crested foam;

Scare, I think, another man

Would have faced the risks we ran!

There were also verses composed by many others, but they were quite worthless. Having recited these, the late and the present Governors descended together; the present and the late hosts went forth hand in hand, in good fellowship and the best of spirits.

3 FEB. 27th day.—They started from Ōtsu and began to row to Urato. His little daughter,⁷ who had been born in the Capital, had died a short time previously in the Province very suddenly; and now, when, as we see, he was departing in haste, what was he to say! All his love was changed to grief, for he will now have no little daughter to return with him to the Capital. It was more than most men could bear; but in this case a certain personage' dragged out the following verse:

Though I now return

To my home, the Capital,

Sad it is to think

One for whom I mourn in vain

Never will return again.

He composed the following also upon the same occasion:

Could I e'er forget

What is past, I still should grieve

If she were not here;

Seeking for her, I should say,

'Where's my little girl today?'

Such were his words. At a place named Cape Kago the Governor's brother,⁸ some strangers and many others hurried down to the shore with sake and other good things to bid a sad farewell; and all the people from Government House, who had come here, spoke softly in the kindness of their hearts. To express their grief at parting, these good people clustered together upon the sea-shore and dragged out the following verse,—which was as heavy as a net full of fishes!

Like a flock of ducks⁹ Here among the reeds are we; Deeply we regret Thy departure, and we would Keep thee with us, if we could.

On this the traveler with the greatest appreciation replied:

Sounding with my pole

Bottom is there none; and thus

Like the Sea-God's realm,

Bottomless my loving heart,

When I think we now must part.

The steersman,¹⁰ who had himself been freely eating and drinking sake while all this was going on, now remorselessly said they must get away at once; for the tide was full, and he feared the wind might blow and they would have a rough tossing in the ship. Just about this time several others wrote appropriate verses; they were Chinese poems and I have no doubt they were worthy of the occasion; a certain personage' also sang a song of the East,¹¹—though he was still in the Land of the West. While these verses were being sung, we are told, even the dust in the cabin began to blow about and the clouds to scud across the sky! That evening a stop was made at Urato, to which spot Fujiwara no Tokisané and Tachibana no Suehira followed.¹²

4 FEB. 28th day.—They set out rowing from Urato and made for Ōminato, where Yamaguchi no Chiminé, the son of a former Governor, came with sake and good things to eat, which he put aboard the boat. There will be plenty to eat and drink during the voyage!

5 FEB. 29th day.—They remained at Ōminato, and the Doctor paid a visit, in order to present some spiced sake and byakusan appropriate to the season, as well as ordinary saké;¹³ this he did from pure kindness of heart.