Yamanoue no Okura

Yamanoue no Okura Poems

瓜食めば
Uri hameba
When I eat melons
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Yamanoue no Okura Biography

Yamanoue no Okura (山上憶良?, also written as 山於億良, 660?–733?) was a Japanese poet, the best known for his poems of children and commoners. He was a member of Japanese missions to Tang China. He was also a contributor to the Man'yōshū and his writing had a strong Chinese influence. Unlike other Japanese poetry of the time, his work emphasizes a morality based on the teachings of Confucius. Most scholars believe that he was born in 660, on the basis of his Chinese prose "Chin'a Jiai-bun" recorded in the fifth volume of Man'yōshū as a work written in 733 (Tenpyō 5), in which he says, "In this year, I am 74." Yamanoue no Okura accompanied a mission to Tang China in 701 and returned to Japan in 707. In the years following his return he served in various official capacities. He served as the Governor of Hōki (near present day Tottori), tutor to the crown prince, and Governor of Chikuzen. While there, he associated with Otomo no Tabito, who was serving in Dazaifu.)

The Best Poem Of Yamanoue no Okura

When I Eat Melons

瓜食めば
Uri hameba
When I eat melons
子ども思ほゆ
Kodomo omohoyu
My children come to my mind;
栗食めば
Kuri hameba
When I eat chestnuts
まして偲はゆ
Mashite shinowayu
The longing is even worse.
何処より
Izuku yori
Where do they come from,
来りしものそ
Kitarishi monoso
Flickering before my eyes.
眼交に
Manakai ni
Making me helpless
もとな懸りて
Motona kakarite
Endlessly night after night.
安眠し寝さぬ
Yasui shi nasanu
Not letting me sleep in peace?

Yamanoue no Okura Comments

Fabrizio Frosini 27 June 2016

Little is known of Yamanoue no Okura (660 – ca.733) , beyond that he was a member of an embassy sent from the Yamato court to T’ang China in 701 and returned home some time later. It has been suggested that his family may have been Korean immigrants to Japan, but it is hard to know for sure. He is still reckoned as being one of the Man’yōshū‘s great poets, however, being unafraid to experiment with the form and introduce elements learned from his time in China. He has only 10 nagauta and 62 tanka in the collection, but did contribute some of the writing in Chinese.

51 0 Reply
Fabrizio Frosini 27 June 2016

Of all the poets in the anthology, his work shows the strongest Confucian moral influence, especially in works such as his ‘Dialogue between the Poor and the Destitute‘. He is also admired for the simple humanity of poems such as those mourning the death of his son.

54 0 Reply

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