Poem reading

[Bugyotsuji]

Tobacco pouch.

The same two Waka lines are repeated on either side on brass liners.
This is embarrassing to have to ask, but would any of our writing experts be able to help? 

 

It's related to the following but seems slightly changed...(?)

Cherry blossom heaven (Hirano) - Green Shinto

If someone wonders
how to describe the spirit
of the Japanese,
say “mountain cherry blossoms,
glowing in the morning sun.” (Tr. David Bowles)

本居宣長の和歌「敷島の大和心を人問はば朝日に匂ふ山桜花」の意味 (tankanokoto.com)

敷島の大和心を人問はば，朝日に匂ふ山桜花。
If one should ask you concerning the spirit of a true Japanese, point to the wild cherry blossom shining in the morning sun.

— Motoori Norinaga, "Shikishima no Uta" (敷島の歌).

 

 

 

 

 

[k morita]

Hi,
Yes, it's  Motoori Norinaga's(本居宣長) famous Waka poem. 

 

しきしまの大和ごゝろを人とはゞ
   朝日に匂ふやまざくらばな

[Nobody]

1 hour ago, Bugyotsuji said:

.........................................................

 

It's related to the following but seems slightly changed...(?)

Cherry blossom heaven (Hirano) - Green Shinto

 

 

 

I see your point.

Some hiragana such as し, は (ば), に, な in the poems on the brass lines are expressed in Hentaigana style (変体仮名).

 

Ref. Hentaigana - Wikipedia

[Bugyotsuji]

Thank you, both of you. It's a long road, but very interesting!  Will one lifetime be enough?

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Shikishima 敷島 ('These sprinkled isles' (Piers), an old poetic name for Japan) was the name of a new Japanese battleship built in London in the 1890s.

 

Japanese battleship Shikishima - Wikipedia

 

[Bugyotsuji]

This purse may have been used originally for shredded tobacco (kizami-tabako 刻みタバコ), but it has two 'himotoshi' holes at the top, so I have now changed out the Netsuke and replaced it with a much battered kiseru-ire.

 

Edit. On reflection, I have again taken the キセル筒 kiseru-zutsu off and used an 帯車 or 帯挟根付 obi-guruma or obi-basami Netsuke, and it looks more suitable both aesthetically and historically.

[k morita]

Hi,
You need to know "makura-kotoba"(枕詞).
In waka, Shikishima is just a word associated with Yamato.
Therefore, "Shikishima-no-Yamato" is connected and it means Japan.

[Bugyotsuji]

The sprinkled isles of Yamato!

 

I like it! 

[Bugyotsuji]

I would like to try translating it.

 

”Should you ask about the heart of the people on these sprinkled isles of Yamato,

It is as the mountain cherry blossom, radiant in early morning sunshine.”

Piers

[Nobody]

The background and the true meaning of the poem (only in Japanese)

Ref. 「敷島の歌」 (norinagakinenkan.com)

[Bugyotsuji]

So he was talking about himself, and it was a private reflection, not a generalization about the Japanese people, and not really for public consumption.

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Oh, and this is how it looked with a kiseru-zutsu. (Going back through old photos…)