Youtor
027194139 Echoes of Manyoshu in Modern AmericaBridging Ancient Poetry with Modern American Life
>> YOUR LINK HERE: ___ http://youtube.com/watch?v=aFaOpStEzq4
#Manyoshu • #modern American life • #harmony • #nature • #reflection • In the spring garden, • The blossoms of the peach trees glow, • Radiant in crimson hues, • Shining brightly beneath the boughs, • Even the path below aglow, • Where a maiden stands, serene. • (春の園紅にほふ桃の花下照る道に出で立つ娘子)(大伴家持) • The Manyoshu is the oldest existing anthology of Japanese poetry, compiled from the late 7th century to the late 8th century. • It consists of 20 volumes and contains approximately 4,500 poems. The range of authors spans a broad spectrum of society, from emperors to farmers, and the regions depicted in the poems extend across Japan, from the Tohoku region to Kyushu. While the oldest poem is traditionally believed to be those attributed to Empress Iwanohime (poems 85-89 in Volume 2), the wife of Emperor Nintoku, these, as well as other poems from before the reign of Empress Suiko, such as Emperor Yuryaku's poem (poem 1 in Volume 1), are difficult to authenticate. They are considered later works attributed to these figures. • Therefore, the actual period covered by the Manyoshu begins with the reign of Emperor Jomei, who ascended the throne in 629 and was the father of Emperors Tenji and Tenmu, and spans approximately 130 years until the composition of the final poem (poem 4516 in Volume 20), which was written in 759 (the third year of the Tenpyo-Hoji era). • The Origin of the Title The meaning of the title Manyoshu is thought to come from the idea that yo (meaning leaves ) symbolizes generations, and that the anthology was named in the hope that it would be passed down for thousands of generations. Although the details of its compilation and formation remain unclear, the Manyoshu was not assembled by a single editor. It is believed to have gone through a complex process with contributions from several editors, with the final compilation into 20 volumes possibly being done by Otomo no Yakamochi. • The poems in the anthology are categorized into Miscellaneous Poems (Zokka), Poems of Love (Somon), and Elegies (Banka). Miscellaneous Poems include poems composed on various occasions, such as imperial processions, feasts, or travels, and many have a celebratory tone. Poems of Love refer to the exchange of personal messages, often between parents and children, siblings, or close friends, but most commonly involve romantic relationships between men and women. Elegies are poems about death. In other words, the Manyoshu can be seen as a collection of poems that depict almost every stage of human life, from birth to death. • In ancient times, people revered and feared nature, believing that each mountain had its own deity, as did each river. The Manyo era was a time when people began to move beyond their fear of nature, transitioning to a period where they started to praise nature for what it was. It was an era when people lived in harmony with nature, and this deep connection is reflected in the poems of the Manyoshu, which often celebrate the natural world. • The mountains and rivers were also familiar presences to the Manyo people. In particular, the Yamato River, which flows through the center of the Nara Basin—from Asuka and Fujiwara palaces to Heijo-kyo, the political heart of Japan—was a river close to the hearts of the people, and many poems about it have been passed down through generations.
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