Sento Imperial Palace: the hidden place of the ancient Japanese poems

The capital city of Japan is Tokyo, but until 150years ago it had been Kyoto, and Emperors in those times had lived in the present Kyoto Imperial palace.

Sento Imperial Palace is located at the nearly south-east place from the Kyoto Imperial Palace. It was the place where the abdicated Emperors once lived. My wife and I visited there when it was already very hot in the mid-summer morning. As might be expected upon visiting a recent historical heritage site in Japan, there were some foreigners in our visiting touring group. The semi-artistic stillness with nature of Sento Imperial Palace surprised us by the dynamic change from the real world in the mid-town of Kyoto, and it made us feel cool regardless of the high temperature in this mid-summer as well. Sento Imperial Palace has a special atmosphere brewed by a big pond surrounded with a lot of woods coupled with a few houses and bridges.

Sento Imperial Palace has a lot of traits of Japanese cultures which have been transforming through the past time for thirteen centuries. These show the signs that the abdicated Emperors enjoyed their well-being lives by their meticulous dedication to the culture after their abdication. Sento Imperial Palace was built by the Tokugawa Bakufu for the sake of the good relationship with the Emperors family.

You can visit there, but before it you have to apply for your visiting on the application web site of the Imperial Household Agency. Staff of the Imperial Household Agency guides you and explain some characteristic spots in summary, you can come in contact with many various Japanese cultures simultaneously and you are able to have a comfortable trip for an hour.

I would like to write about one topic of the guidances. It was about the unique ancient Japanese anthology of poems. It came as a surprise to me when the staff said that. And that transferred me to the other field.

To the world of ancient Japanese poems

When the capital of the Heian period was built in Kyoto in 794, the first Imperial Palace was in a westward place far from the present place. This present place was the regimental site of the renowned poet and a Imperial governor, Tsurayuki Kino, who edited “Kokin-waka-shu” (Anthology of old and current Japanese poems) in 912 by the order of the Emperor at that time.

The National Anthem of Japan; “Kimigayo”

Have you ever heard the National Anthem of Japan? You can hear it at the award ceremonies of the Olympic Games which a Japanese player or a Japanese team got a gold medal or at the match games between Japan and the other nation in the World Cup of Football. This unique melody isn’t a Major nor a Minor but a ancient Japanese scale. Well I would like you to listen to the lyrics of the National Anthem of Japan “Kimigayo” (You can check “kimigayo” on you-tube). Simply speaking, it means the permanency of you, Japan or all the world.

ki-mi-ga-yo-wa

chi-yo-ni-ya-chi-yo-ni

sa-za-re-i-shi-no

i-wa-o-to-na-ri-te

ko-ke-no-mu-su-ma-de

In fact kimigayo was edited in the anthology of old and current Japanese poems.

Kokin-waka-shu

kokin-waka-shu was born in order to save the native Japanese spirits from the strong influencing power of Chinese language. It is said; while the native Japanese spirits were still alive, it was necessary to revive them, at last The Imperial government launched this big project.

 Tsurayuki Kino noted the meaning of the anthology on its preface as follows.

“Our native poetry springs from the heart of man as its seed, producing the countless leaves of language. Multitudinous are the affairs of men in this world, what their minds think, what their eyes see, what their ears hear they must find words to express. Listening to the nightingale singing amid the blossoms of spring, or to the murmur of frogs among the marshes in autumn, we know that every living thing that lives has its part in the mingled music of nature.”

“Word” by Japanese pronunciation is “ko-to-ba”, it means “Ko-to-no-ha” in Japanese and that means “leaves of language” in English. The unique characteristic of the Japanese language is that Japanese words are oriented from men who catch the mingled music of nature. At the ancient time ko-to-ba equals “ko-to-da-ma”(spirits of words), so the ancient men voiced words. Thus it is necessary to voice a poem. For instance, I will introduce a poem from the Anthology of old and current Japanese poems.

Amid the branches of the silv’ry bowers

The nightingale doth sing: perchance he knows

That spring hath come, and takes the later snows

For the white petals of the plum’s sweet flowers

Ha-ru-ta-te-ba (5 rhyming)

Ha-na-to-ya-mi-ra-n (7 rhyming)

Shi-ra-Yu-ki-no (5 rhyming)

Ka-ka-re-ru-ya-do-ni (7 rhyming)

U-gu-i-su-no-na-ku (7 rhyming)

This 17 syllable poem is constructed of only ancient Japanese words “yamato-kotoba”.

In the ancient Imperial Salon, all of the Imperial governors and the Emperor voiced their Japanese poems according to the basic rule of singing a poem based on the 5-7-5-7-7 rhyming. The gentle rhythm of 5-7-5-7-7 rhyming in a poem animates the poem itself and voicing a poem synchronizes the listening people.

Many Japanese people, and tell the truth, I too feel the uplift when we sing the National Anthom of Japan. Why is this so? Does the patriotism make the Japanese people feel so? If you ask the same question to the ancient Japanese people the answer would seem as follows. The answer is that kimigayo is constructed of only ancient Japanese words “yamato-kotoba” and even the present Japanese people are imbued with the sense of the energy of Japanese words.