Japanese with anime voice: episode61
Hello, I’m Sachi.
Today, May 27, is 百人一首 (Hyakunin isshu) Day. Do you know what 百人一首 (Hyakunin isshu) is? 百人一首 (Hyakunin isshu) is a collection of 和歌 (waka) written by 100 歌人 (kajin), one for each of them.
A 歌人 (kajin) is a person who creates poems, and a 和歌 (waka) is a poem in a form unique to Japan. The waka poems are made into karuta. Karuta is a card game, and although few people play it these days, it used to be a standard New Year’s game.
To play, there is one set of karuta with only the text, called 読み札 (yomifuda), and one set of karuta with only one large hiragana character, called 取り札 (torifuda), with a picture drawn on the karuta. The cards of 取り札 (torifuda) are spread out randomly in front of the participants. One of the participants is called a “reader” and reads out the sentences written on the cards. Then, the other players finds the card with the first letter of the sentence and takes it from in front of them. This game cannot be played by only two people, so three or more people are required. However, depending on how you think about it, if you divide the time into short periods, such as 3 or 5 minutes, and see how many karuta you can get in that time, two people can play. The person who gets the most karuta cards wins. This sounds quite interesting.
The game is basically for children with simple sentences, so it can be a good way to study the Japanese language. There are also ドラえもん (Doraemon) karuta, but I gave one to an American friend of mine who is studying Japanese. I think you can enjoy playing karuta even if you are not confident in your Japanese, as long as you can match the hiragana characters and their readings in your mind.
However, 百人一首 (Hyakunin isshu) is different from the karuta I just explained. I have never played 百人一首 (Hyakunin isshu), so I don’t know the details, but it is a waka poem and the sentences on the cards are long. In waka, there is an upper clause and a lower clause, and a clause is a break in the text. The reader reads out the whole sentences on the waka cards of 読み札 (yomifuda), but only the bottom phrases are written on the cards of 取り札 (torifuda). So, when the cards are read out, you have to listen to them with the lower clause in mind.
For example, in the case of the waka poem 秋田のかりほのいほのとまをあらみ、わがころもてはつゆにぬれつつ (Akita no kariho no iho no toma wo arami, waga koromote ha tsuyu ni nure tsutsu), it means to look for a 取り札 (torifuda) that says わがころもてはつゆにぬれつつ (waga koromo te ha tsuyu ni nure tsutsu) in the lower clause. Still, it is difficult. Just reading out this waka poem, the Japanese is so difficult that it doesn’t come into my head. It must have been such a difficult game for people in the old days. It gives us a glimpse of the difference in the level of our brains from those of modern people.
By the way, I forgot to mention that Hyakunin Isshu Day was established to commemorate the completion of the 小倉百人一首 (Ogura hyakunin isshu) on this day in 文暦 (Bunryaku) 2. The 文暦 (Bunryaku) era was from 1234 to 1235 in the western calendar. It was a very long time ago, but more than that, it is interesting that the period was so short.
Incidentally, the 小倉百人一首 (Ogura hyakunin isshu) was completed by Fujiwara, a nobleman of the Kamakura period (1185-1333), and it is known when it was completed because it is recorded in his diary. It is amazing that this diary has survived. It is also amazing that someone was able to decipher what he wrote in it. The Japanese of old cannot be read by modern people, and the meaning is not understood either, as the language used is completely different from that of today. But, there is no doubt that the language was much more beautiful than today’s Japanese. Especially when they wanted to say to a woman that they liked her or that she was beautiful, they did not use direct words. They used to express their affection by comparing it with the most beautiful thing in the season at that time, etc. Some people may wonder if they can convey what they want to say to the other person with such incomprehensible expressions. However, I believe that such indirect expressions used to be more effective in conveying the message to the hearts of people.
Nowadays, this is manifested in Japan’s national anthem. When I was a child, I had no idea what the lyrics of the national anthem meant, and because I didn’t know, I assumed that it was lame. But now that I know the meaning of the words, I feel ashamed of myself for thinking that way. The lyrics of the Japanese national anthem are very short.
君が代は、千代に、八千代に、さざれ石の岩となりて、苔のむすまで (kimi ga yo ha, chiyo ni, yachiyo ni, sazareishi no iwa tonarite, koke no musu made)
It means, “May your life continue beyond thousands of years, so that さざれ石 (sazareishi) becomes a big rock and moss grows on it. It is a grand expression of how much they think about you. What do you think? I find this expression more moving than words like “I love you” or “You are beautiful.” Well, of course, it is meaningless if you don’t know what it means. A さざれ石 (sazareishi) is a large rock, but it is actually made up of small pebbles. But they are formed over a very long period of time, and the time it takes for moss to grow on them is a considerable amount of time. It can also refer to the years from that time to this time now. さざれ石 (sazareishi) can be found all over Japan, but the largest one is in my hometown. It is so large, in fact, that I think the surrounding mountains themselves are さざれ石 (sazareishi). You can see the さざれ石 (sazareishi) in the first video on my YouTube channel, so if you are interested in what it looks like, please take a look.
