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A Japanese Burlesque.

Nise Monogatari
Author(s): Jack Rucinski
Source: Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 30, No. 1 (Spring, 1975), pp. 1-18
Published by: Sophia University
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A JapaneseBurlesque:
NiseMonogatari

by JACK RuCINSKI

To bathe,ornottobathe,-thatis thequestion;
Whether'tiswiserin a mantosuffer
Theachesandpangsofdisordered nature,
Or totakebathsagainsta sea oftroubles
Andbyso doingendthem?To strip-tosweat,
No more;and,bya roast,tosayweend
Theheadache, anda thousand natural
ills
Thatfleshis heirto,-'tis a consummation
Devoutlytobewish'd.To strizp,-to sweat:

T
To sweat!andbeshampooed:-aye, therub..
there's ..

P HE MORE A CREATION of literature is loved, the more it is prone to be


parodied. The classics ofJapan, too, have not escaped this rule. If Shake-
speare has been pricked by the satirist'squill, Murasaki2 has been tickled
by his writing-brush.It is to that lady's GenjiMonogatari3that the honor of being
the object of the most famous parody in Japanese literature falls. In Ksishoku
Ichidai Otoko,4Ihara Saikaku's5 hero romps througha seriesof madcap escapades,
with no hint of the gentle melancholy of the Shining Prince. To the charge of
irreverence,Saikaku could reply that any resemblance to persons living, dead,
or fictionalwas purely coincidental. The author of Nise Monogatari6 has no such
in the most brazen,
excuse, forhe retellseach of the 125 episodes ofIse Monogatari7
burlesque fashion. What he does share with Saikaku is a Rabelaisian sense of
humor as he takes Ise Monogatariand applies his wit to turningits poetic tales into
scenes of Tokugawa life replete with all of its celebrated materialism and
debauchery.

1 'Hamlet's Soliloquyon the TurkishBath', 3 ZNk>,X, ca. 1010.


in Walter Hamilton,ed., Parodiesof theWorks 4 f t--1., , 1682.
of EnglishandAmerican Authors,
London, 1885, 5 f 1642-93.
II, p. 148. 6 ca.950i .
2 V 9, 978-1015. 7 t<t-p> nfi~.,
ca. 950.

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2 Monumenta
Nipponica,xxx, 1
Not only is the situation of every episode changed from the sublime to the
ridiculous, but the farcical treatmentextends to outrageous puns upon much of
the narrative and all of the poems. In Ise Monogatari(Episode 4), Ariwara no
Narihira8 muses upon life's mysteryand recites the most famous of classical
tanka:
Tsukiya aranu It is not the moon,
Haruya mukashino This Spring is not
Haru naranu The Spring of old-
Wa ga mi hitotsuwa Only this body of mine
Moto no mi ni shite Remains the same.
In the corresponding Nise Monogatariepisode, a swelling on the nose of the
poetess moves her to recite:
Tsuraya aranu It is not the face,
Hanaya mukashino This nose is not
Hana naranu The nose of old-
Wa ga mi hitotsuwa Only this body of mine
Moto no mi ni shite Remains the same.

According to Howard Hibbett, the humor is achieved 'by the crudestof meth-
ods: verbal alteration,the literaryequivalent of adding a moustache to the Mona
Lisa.'9 The readers of Tokugawa days do not appear to have been outraged by a
moustache or two, for the book was enormously popular and the demand was
such that it was reprinted several times subsequent to its firstappearance in
about 1640.
A parody of a classic presupposes that the classic is widely read and known,
and this, Ise Monogataricertainlywas. With the spread of printingin the early
Tokugawa period, Ise Monogatariwas among the firstworks of traditional litera-
ture to come offthe new presses.An edition appeared in 1608 and was followed
by as many as ten differenteditions in the next few years. In the Genna and
Kan'ei eras,10the diffusionwas even more astonishing. Annotated texts were
produced and a veritable 'Ise boom' ensued.1"
The popularityof Ise Monogatariwas part and parcel of the revival of the clas-
sics, and this revival rose from the rediscoveryof sensuality by the pleasure-
loving citizensof Osaka, Kyoto, and Edo. The wars of national unificationbehind
them, the people turned to works such as Ise Monogatarifor instructionin the
peaceful pursuits of life. That it was well known, we know too from Saikaku,
who alludes to passages from Ise Monogatariin such works as the previously
mentioned KsishokuIchidai Otoko.He obviously expects his readers to know Ise

A),T
8 825-80. 11 Noda Hisao XT' ;AR, ed., Kanazoshishiu
Fiction,Lon-
9 TheFloatingWorldinJapanese ge Xf--i.T, in NihonKotenZenshoH*Ut
don, 1959,p. 91. kg, Asahi Shimbunsha,1962, p. 19.
10 5tTL, ; 1615-44.

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Rucinski: N/iseMonogatari 3

Monogataribackward and forward.The time was ripe, then,forparody literature


like NAiseMonogatarito appear.
The phenomena of mojiribungaku12became an important part of kanazoshi13
and a new genre in Japanese literaryhistory.It arose fromthat zestfulspirit of
early Tokugawa, the spiritthat was not content with veneration of the classics,
but also attempted to imbue them with modernityand relevency to the life of
the times. Literature was never again to sufferfromthe beloved but tyrannical
modes of the classics. The obstacles on the road to a fictionbased upon a new
realism disappeared as the hoary idols were jostled aside.
The havoc extended to Makura no Soshi, Tsurezuregusa, and Heike Monogatari,14
rewrittenrespectively-and disrespectfully-as MottomonoSoshi,Inu-tsurezure, and
KankatsuHeike Monogatari.15 These works could be supplemented by othersbased
upon particular works and by many more, such as ChikusaiMonogatari,16 which
satirize the classical genres at large-the same technique Pope uses in The Rape of
theLock.
Nise Monogatari'sfame restsupon the author's display of scrupulous attention
to punning upon the original. Perhaps the best example of this approach in
English parody is John Phillip's 'The Splendid Shilling', which makes use of the
high formalityof Milton's Paradise Lost in a lowly tale of a tattered poet. The
word-for-word parody of N"iseMonogatarigives it a unique place in the burlesque
literatureofJapan; other works parodying the classicswere contentwith merely
borrowinga title and an occasional phrase fromthe text. Thus, Mottomono Soshi
takes as itsformatSei Shanagon's17 classificationsof 'Pretty Things', 'Annoying
Things', and so forth,to list impressionsof Tokugawa life,with few allusions to
Makura no Soshi.
In N'ise Monogatari,however, the humor lies in a deliberate distortionof the
original text. The titleitself,meaning 'imitationtales', is a pun on Ise Monogatari,
and the imitation consists,in part, of replacing the original elegant vocabulary
with the slang of the day while maintainingthe classical sentence structure.The
disharmonybetween these elementsreinforcesthat between the original's theme
of miyabi18and the parody's mood of vulgarity.Moreover, the author of N'ise
Monogataridesires not merelyto amuse readers with his comedy, but to impress
them as well with his sustained effort.The result is indeed a remarkable tourde
forceof wit which-strain though it may at times under the restrictionsupon
it-is responsibleforthe work's position as a prime example of parody literature.
The author did not foreseethat his vulgarization of the elegant by the intro-
duction of the lowly and quotidian would furnishlater historianswith valuable
insightsinto the mentalityof his age. The work is filledwith a variety of foods,
diseases, and professionswhich are not only funnyfor their being treated in a

12 #): Z, parodyliterature. -R *-A


C('ADog's Idleness'), 1653; UTA,e
13 Xt, 4-, storybooks in kana. ('Baggy Tales of the Heike'), 1630.
14 t4-, ca. 1000; : 1332; 2t**, 16 ~t 4->pi, ca. 1620.
earlyKamakura period. 17 *V -, ca. 965-1024.
15 at4- ('The Just Right Book'), 1632; 18 JZf, elegance.

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4 Nipponica,xxx, 1
Monumenta
quasi-classical mode, but are also importantclues to the diet, medical practices,
and livelihoods of the Tokugawa citizenry.Food and drinkis the favoritetopic,
appearing in forty-oneepisodes. Such prosaic items as abalone (Episode 7),
dumplings (9), friedrice (9), sushi(18), and pickles (23) are mentioned.The next
concern is with illnesses-rashes (2), deformedbirth (6), bad complexion (49),
baldness (56), and boils (112), to name a few. If characters not unknown in
respectable literature,such as itinerate priests (8), beggars (63), and farmers
(89), put in an appearance, so do fishshop proprietors(1), doctorsof acupuncture
(4), sumo wrestlers (40), cattle dealers (60), gamblers (69), and bean-paste
makers (110). Sex, of course, is not neglected-twenty-one episodes are best
described as bawdy.
Although the significanceof many of the items and places mentioned may
not be totallycomprehensibleto readers today untilfurtherresearchis done, what
is known constitutesa wealth of informationon customs and conditions,supple-
mentingthe work's qualities of linguisticplayfulnessand literaryspoofing.
As regardsthe identityof the author and the date of his creation,we have only
the text itselfto provide us with clues. It has oftenbeen ascribed to the notorious
Karasumaru Mitsuhiro,19as has ChikusaiMonogatariand Mottomono Soshi, but
Karasumaru again seems to have been given more credit than he is entitledto.
The Shimabara Rebellion, treated in Episode 33, was put down in the second
month of 1638. Karasumaru died in the eleventh month of that year after a
lingeringillness and, if we assume he would have writtenthe episodes in order,
cannot be expected to have had the energyforthe taxing undertakingof complet-
ing the other ninety-twochapters before his death. Furthermore,Episode 12
deals with the execution of Christians at Asakusa in present-day Tokyo, and
this is thought to referto the measures taken against Christianityin 1640, two
years afterhis death.
If the case for Karasumaru is not strong,a more credible theoryof authorship
has not been proposed. Just as the Ise Monogatarihas an Afterwordin kambunby
Fujiwara no Teika20 suggestingthat it may be the work of the Middle Captain
Ariwara or of Lady Ise in the thirteenthyear of her childhood, so Nise Monogatari
has its Afterwordgiving as possible author a certain Sukibara no Chfugenor a
(Lady?) Nise in the thirteenthyear of her youth. This is nothing more than the
parodist at work again. Sukibara no Chfigenis a pun on Ariwara no Chujo and
means 'lackey with an empty stomach'.21
The date of composition is easier to ascertain. In the same Episode 12, the
Christiansare apprehended by the city magistratesof the shogun's government;
it was these officialswho organized the Christianpersecutionsuntil 1640. There-
fore, at the earliest, the work was completed soon after the suppression of the
Shimabara Rebellion in 1638 and, at the latest, in 1640 or immediately after.
According to the editorsof the NKBT text,KanazishishI,22which was used forthe

19 %ftL-. , 1579-1638. nami Shoten, 1965. My translations from Ise


20 jWN,t , 1 162-1241. Monogatariare based on the text given in NKBT
21 t+ , Ag8Tg ix, 1957.
22 g TX-, H*tlk, q XC, Iwa-

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Rucinski: N'iseMonogatari 5
followingtranslations,the firstprintingof the work took place at the end of the
Kan'ei era, or 1644.
The success of Nise Monogatarigave rise to other worksusing the Ise Monogatari
format to treat such topics as the love lives of prostitutesand kabuki actors.
OkashiOtoko,23 published in 1662, was a guide-book to the women of Shimmachi,
the pleasure quarter of Osaka. It led, in turn, to YoshiwaraIse Monogatari,24 a
guide to Edo's brothel district.Slightlylater, an account of kabuki actors, rar5
Nise Monogatari,25 was published, to be followed by KJshokuIse Monogatari26 in
1686. Taware OtokoIse Monogatari27 appeared much later,in 1799. These worksare
not word-for-wordparodies and do not stand comparison with N'iseMonogatari
with its display of facilityand wit.
Finally, Iba Kasho's Ts7fuIse Monogatari28 of 1782 is translatedunder the title,
'A Modern Ise-monogatari', in Selections from JapaneseLiterature:12th to 19th
Centuries.29This work seems to be typical of the many adaptations of Ise Mono-
gatari,which, whatever qualities they may possess,owe littleto the structureand
mood of the original.
If the translationof a workfromJapanese to English is difficult, the translation
of a work plus its parody is, at least, doubly so. Needless to say, a pun in Japanese
does not necessarilylend itselfto one in English. I have tried to approximate
somethingof the original sense of parody by employingthe same parts of speech
and by resortingto stretchingthe sense of a set of expressionsin the two parallel
tales in order to come up with English words which sound somewhat similar,
yet retain something of the original meaning. For example, Episode 65 of Ise
Monogatarihas the expression,iroyurusaretaru, 'permitteda color'; in Jise Mono-
gatari,thisbecomes norimonoyurusaretaru, 'permitteda vehicle'. I have driftedfrom
the exact meanings by translatingthe phrases as 'was permittedto dress in the
forbiddenvermillion', and 'was permittedto ride in a curtained palanquin'. In
this case, 'vermillion' and 'palanquin' seem at least as well turned as iro and
norzmono.
In translatingboth the original text and the parody, I was much less able to
take the libertiesforthe sake of stylethat Helen McCullough and H. Jay Harris
did in their English versions of Ise Monogatari.30 I was obliged to adhere to the
sentence patternsin order that the verbal play might come throughin English.
To complicate mattersstill further,Jise Monogatarisometimesemploys one part
of speech to pun upon another. That is, a noun may pun on a verb, an adjective
on a verb. Here too I have attempted to do the same in English. When all else
failed, I resignedmyselfto using the gistof a pun. For instance,in Episode 65 we

23 e L T ('Amusingto Say, a Man....'). 28 J A4U4,*pfi


24 4utf 29 F. J. Daniels, ed., London, 1959, pp.
25 $ t4V4 I 3 ('The Actors' Imitation 152-63.
Tales'). 30 Helen Craig McCullough, Tales of Ise,
26 0p 3 ('The AmorousTales of StanfordU.P., 1968; H. Jay Harris, The Tales
Ise'). of Ise, Tuttle,Tokyo, 1972.
27
T4 vIt 4 ('The Comic'sTales ofIse').

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6 Nipponica,xxx, 1
Monumenta
find the example of izanawaretsutsu, 'I am continually drawn', and hqagyaburi-
tsutsu,'my shins are continually bloodied'. Making more free with the texts, I
offerthe translations'will this heart of mine e'er cease to ache?' and 'will these
feet of mine e'er cease to ache?'
If matterswere not bad enough, there is also the problem of conveying the
contrastbetween the elegant and vulgar language wherein much of the humor
lies. This adherence to Japanese grammar and styleand this gropingfor English
puns cannot but make for an English such as may never have been seen before.
The author of N'/iseMonogatariseems to have missed opportunitiesfor more
successfulword-plays, and, for reasons known only to him, to have neglected
phrases here and therein Ise Monogatari.I did not add puns that did not exist,nor
did I fillin his omissions. My perhaps overly scrupulous method does not result
in the comedy that a freertranslationwould have and, no doubt, fails to convey
much of the humor in the Japanese.
Plays on words not apparent in the body ofthe translationsare brieflyexplained
after each chapter, as also are referencesto obscure places, dress, utensils,etc.
In presentingseveral episodes fromNise Monogatariin translationhere, I have
triedto select thosewhich may be fairlyrepresentativeof the whole. If some parts
are funny,theirhumor was not the sole criteriaforinclusion. Episode 34, in fact,
is intended to illustratea lapse of the author's skill. Both of the chapters treating
Christianityare translatedon the assumption that they may be of particular in-
terestto Westernreaders. Episode 65 should demonstratethe parodist's sustained
efforts.Whatever the meritsor failingsof these selections, I hope every one of
them will give the reader an appreciation forthe farcicalskillof the author and a
sense of the rollicking,scurrilousworld of stuffand nonsense in Nise Monogatari.

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Rucinski: Nise Monogatari 7

Episode 1

Ise Monogatari Nise Monogatari


In a formerday, therewas a man Amusing to say, there was a man
who, coming into his manhood, who, coveringhis head with a hood,
went huntingon his estate went rambling in search of
so finein Kasuga, near Nara. rice-winein Kasuga, near Nara.
Living in the village were On sale in the village were
two fetchingsisters- veryfreshfish,
a rare bevy. called 'red-belly'.
When he them did espy, When he tried to buy,
he was startledto find he was startledto find
in this meager burgh in his money-bag
that such elegance should appear, that all his cash had disappeared
and knew not what to do. and knew not what to do.
Upon a stripfrom Upon strippingfrom
the hunting-cloakhe wore, the rented-cloakhe wore,
he gave them a poem he gave it forthe price
of his wish to meet. of a fishto eat.
The hunting-cloakwas with The rented-cloakwas with
moss-ferndyed. mustard dyed.
Purple dye, on the robe at random, Off peeled I the robe I rented
From the sproutsof Kasuga Plain, For the troutsof Kasuga Plain,
Flourishinglike thejungle It's freezing! and all a-jumble
Within this heart of mine. Is my head fromthe wine.
Such an occasion was very fine, Such inebriationwas very fine,
he surelythought,forthis he surelythought,forthere is
similar poem: a similar poem:
Weavings froma distant land Weaving down the lane,
of a dye-stampscattered- I do stamp and stagger-
My heart is all confused, My feetare all bemused,
And the cause is due to you. And the cause is Nara brew.
People of old acted in remarkably People of old drank in rash and
elegant ways. imprudentways.

Episode 1 has manyof thefeaturesof thewholeof Nise Monogatari, namely,difficulty


of translation,
utterdistortion
of theIse Monogatari tone,and aspectsoflifein Tokugawa
times.
Theindulgent readeroftheEnglishwillhaveinferred thatthepunsaresharper inJapanese,
andindeedthey are,as examining afew examples willreveal.My 'bevy'is actuallyharakara
('of one womb',or 'sisters')and 'red-belly'is haraka ('stomach-red', a kindof trout).

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8 Nipponica,xxx, 1
Monumenta
Karikirumono ('rentedkimono')is a play uponkariginuno suso ('hemof a kariginu',
thetraditional hunting-garb),and maywell be thepun thatinspiredtheNise Monogatari
theme of a rascalon a spree.An exampleof onepartofspeechpunninguponanother is seen
in uta o kakite yaru ('wrotea poemand offered it') and uo no atai ni yaru ('offeredfor
thepriceof a fish'). Shidoromo jizuri ('staggeringly shuffle')and ware Narazake ni
('I, for farasake'), in thelastpoem,arethehighlights oftheburlesque.In Ise Monogatari
thesereadShinobu mojizuri ('Shinobupattern')and ware naranaku ni ('it is notI').
The initialpun, 'coveringhisheadwitha hood',is myrendering of hokaburi shite ('tying
a clotharoundthehead'). In Ise Monogatari, uikoburi shite refersto theman'shaving
comeofage. Presumably, theNise Monogatari herosportssuchheadgear for thepurposeof
disguise;thepracticewas outlawedby theshogunate.
farasake had longbeenfamousandfishis stillconsidered an appropriate side dishwhen
drinking.That is whythemanis willingto sacrifice his kimonofor some. The kimonois,
infact, shibuzome ('dyedwithpersimmon juice'), a colorusedforcoarseclothing wornby
thosesuchas menialsin taverns.The costume of theIse Monogatari gentleman is, as may
beexpected, morerefined.
considerably It is shinobuzuri,a scatteredfern pattern upona white
background, perhapsfromthedistrictof Shinobu.

Episode 3

Ise Nise
In a formerday, therewas a man Amusing to say, there was a man
who thoughtto have conveyed who found he had contracted
somegrassfromthedepthsofthesea the 'rash of Nagasaki'
to thelodgingsofa woman fromthe loins of a woman
withwhomhe had fallenin love. whom he had thoughthighlyof.
He wrote: He wrote:
If you but caredforme, If you but came to me,
In a grassshack On the crass mats
You would evensleep, You would even sleep,
Thoughto takeour ease Though the disease
We mustspreadour robes. We must be sure and cloak.
This occuredwhenthe This occured when the
ConsortofWard Two mattressfortwo
had notyetbeen takeninto had not yet been delivered
the Emperor'sservice
and was stilla commoner. and was still at the mat-maker's.

to thebreaking
Each pun hereis stretched pointand notonecan be singledout as being
particularly in soundsis between
similarity
well turned.The greatest sode o shitsutsumo
('evenspreadingsleeves') and futa o shitsutsumo('evenkeepingcovered').Hizenkasa
('scabiesfromHizen') is a mildpunon bothhijikimo (an ediblesea-weed,Cystophyllum

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Rucinski: Nise Monogatari 9
fusiforme)and hijikimono ('a spread-out parodyis
thing'or 'mattress').Yet,theentire
ofpuns,if notthequality.
carriedalongbythequantity
of thediseaseappeartohaveoriginated,
whereseveralepidemics
Hizen province, is modern
Nagasakiprefecture.

Episode 74

Ise Nise
In a formerday, a man Amusing to say, a man
feltvery bittertoward a feltvery bittertoward a
woman and wrote: woman and wrote:
Though no deep precipice Though no Chinese pox
Keeps us far apart, Keeps us far apart,
Few the days we meet- Few the days we meet-
Yet I stay loving you. Yet I stay loving you.

The hazardsofromance areagain theconcern herebut,unlikeEpisode3, thehumorliesin


onlyonephrase.Yokone fumi togasa yami ('ill fromChinesesyphilis')is
withswellings
an extendedplay uponiwane fumi kasanaru yama ('steep,piled-upmountains').The
authormayhavebeensatisfied withthisand thensimplycopiedthelastpart of thepoem.
As a result,theendingisflat.
If theEnglishcalledsyphilis'Frenchpox', to theJapaneseit was Chineseor Okinawan
whenit appearedin theearlysixteenth in Japan.
century

Episode 32

Ise Nise
In a formerday, Amusing to say,
a man had made love a man had made a loan
to a womanseveralyearspreviously. to a woman several years previously.
He wroteto her: He wrote to her:
Mightwe notfinda way Might you not find a way
To bringback thedaysofyore To pay back the money of yore
And rewindlove's ancientspool? And redeem your ancient I.O.U.?
But it seemsshe paid himno heed. But it seems she paid him no heed.

The manis probablya pawnbroker and suchpeopleplayedan importantpartin thelifeof


thetimes.Shichi no fuda ('a pawn ticket')is a pun on shizu no odamaki ('a ball of
hempthreadcalledshizu'). Nani to mo omowazu ya ariken closesbothepisodesbut,
in Ise Monogatari, themeaning is thatsheno longercaredforhim,whilein Nise Mono-
ofhismoney.
is thatshewas oblivioustohispleafor thereturn
gatari, theimplication

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10 MonumentaNipponica,xxx, 1

Episode 12

Ise Nise
In a formerday, a man Amusing to say, a man
stolesomeone's subscribed to the
daughteraway, outlawed Christian religion,
and whenhe and when he and his wife
tookherto MusashiPlain, were taken to Musashi Plain,
he was caughtby theywere bound by
theofficialsoftheprovince the magistratesof the Shogun
forhis thievery. for theircriminality.
He had put thewoman They put them
in a thicket in a thicket
and thenescapedfromthem.
His pursuersfeltcertain
he was on theplain
and wereabout to set and were about to set
fireto it when fireto it when
the woman, in great distress, the woman, in great distress,
recited: recited:

Do not set firetoday Do not set firetoday


To Musashi Plain. To Musashi Plain,
This beloved man, This execution site!
My husband, hides in the grasses, My husband throwsin the towel,
And so do I. And so do I.

Hearing this,they seized Hearing this,they saved


her, and led them both man and wife,and drove them both
away. away.

This andfollowingepisodeare thetwoin Nise Monogatari thatconcern persecution of


Christians.The phrase,hitsukeru('setfire'),of theoriginal, seemsto have recalled to the
authortheexecutions had recourse
byfirethattheauthorities to. Theparodyis heightened by
thepun, togabito ('criminal'),on nusubito ('thief'). Kuni no kami, theprovincial
of theold imperialregime,becomemachi bugy6, Edo citymagistrates.
officials The most
inspiredwordplays are Asakusa and koroberi. Asakusa, now a part of urban Tokyo, was
thena grassyfield and was a place ofexecution
in theMusashicountryside, untiltheJoo era.31
The place nameis a pun on wakakusa, a makura-kotoba32for tsuma ('husband'),
meaning something like'endearingasyounggrass'. Komoreri, in Ise Monogatari, means
'is hiding'; in Nise Monogatari, it becomeskoroberi,fromtheverb,korobu, 'to tumble

31
*,A, 1652-55. 32 j, a conventionalepithet.

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Rucinski: fiseMonogatari 11
down'or 'tofall'. As withotherofenders againsttheshogun'slaws, believers
in Christianity
werebundledup in strawmatsand, withonlytheirheadsprotruding, werestackedin heaps.
Fire was thenset to them.'To tumbledown'cameto mean'to apostatize'.The Portuguese
usedtheirverb,cahir, 'tofall', for thesame meaning.Revocationof apostasywas termed,
inJapanese,tachi-agaru,'to riseup' or 'to riseagain'.

Episode 33

Ise Nise

In a formerday, a man Amusing to say, a man


was dallyingwith was departingfor
a woman the castle of Shimabara
in thedistrict
of Mubara, in the districtof Takaku,
in theprovinceofTsu. in the province of Hizen.
Becausehis beloved Because his beloved
seemed to fear that he would go, seemed to fear that he would go,
never to returnagain, never to returnalive,
he recited: he recited:

Over the reeds and land, Over thoseoffeetand hands


The tide on the rise The wrinkleson your face
Does gain, Do gain,
Just as the love Just as the years
I have foryou. I add to you.

She answered: She answered:

How mightI perceive How might I permit


The feelingof a heart The braving of a host
Within waters unfathomable, Within walls impregnable,
By my sounding with By your leading
The boatman's oars? So few warriors?

For a rusticwoman's poem, For a roving warrior'spoem,


is this one good or bad ? is this one good or bad ?

In 1637, some30,000 Christians tookrefuge in thecastleofShimabarain Kyushuandwere


able to holdofftheshogunateforces,as theynumbered only1,000 men.Hencethewoman's
concernfor herlover.Soon,however, thebesiegingforcesgrewto about125,000 as samurai
cravingadventurejoinedin thefray. Thefortress fell in thefollowingyear.
Thepreciseparodyis, I hope,obviousin thetranslation.Ashite yori miuchi no shiwa
no iyamashi ni ('morethanfeetandhands,thebody'swrinkles increase')isperhapsthemost
skillfulwordplay.The originalreads,ashibe yori michikurushio no ('to thebankof
reeds,theswellingtideincreases').The Nise Monogatari version is an apologytothewoman

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12 Monumenta xxx, 1
Nipponica,
for causinghersuchworry thatherbrowis linedlikean old woman'swhileherhandsandfeet
arestillyoungandsmooth.
Therebeingnothing uproarious us tomarvelat
in theepisode,it seemstheauthorintended
his punningskill ratherthanto laugh overtheplot.

Episode 34

Ise Jise
In a formerday, a man, Amusing to say, a man,
to someone who had turned cold a fishbone stuck
to him, wrote in his in his throat,wrote in his
boldness, helplessness,
I have to speak- I had a piece
When I do not, Of raw sea-bream;
The stormwithin my bosom rages. The bone withinmybosom lodges.
A heart that alone knows grief A heart that alone knows grief
Is mine these days. Is mine these days.

The parodyhereis less successful.


It wouldseemtheauthorhit upona cleverpun between
mune ni sawagarete ('mybreastis in tumult')and mune ni hasamarite ('in mybreast
to construct
is stuck')and attempted a humorousanecdoteof thediscomfort
causedbya fish
boneas opposedto thegriefof unrequited
lovein theoriginal.He managedanother
pun on
omo nakute ('no shame')withju nakute ('no means').

Episode 65

Ise Nise
In a formerday, there was Amusing to say, there was
a woman who met with the Emperor's a house which men went to for
pleasure pleasure
and was taken into his service and had in its employ
and permittedto dress a woman permittedto ride
in the forbiddenvermilion. in a curtained palanquin.
She was a cousin of the
Empress Dowager.
A chamberlain, said to be A townsman,said to be
of the Ariwara family,and she of an affluentfamily,and she
were quite congenial, were quite chummy,
although the man was although the man was
extremelyyoung. extremelyyoung.
As the women's quarters were As her time was all

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Rucinski: NViseMonogatari 13
open to him and to her dais bought up by him and fordays
he would come and stay beside her, he would stay beside her,
she said to him, she said to him,
'You will shame me indeed, 'You will strainyourselfindeed,
and our lives will count as and in your cofferswill count
nothing. I would be alone.' nothing. You should be at home.'
He replied, He replied,
For love of you, I say, For love of you, I say,
'Let all the others 'Let all the others
Think bad or well.' Go straightto hell.'
If death awaits, If debts I make,
Then let it be so. Then let it be so.
When she would withdraw to When she would be behind
her private chamber, the latticed window,
he went to where he stood outside of where
she was, always paying she was, always blocking
his respectsto her people's view of her
and not mindingwhat and not minding what
othersthought. othersthought.
The woman, much upset, The woman, much upset,
fled to the house fled to a house
of her ancestors. of wicked pleasures.
He, findingthis a He, findingthis a
splendid opportunity, splendid opportunity,
frequentedher there, followedher there,
and all who heard of it laughed. and all who saw him laughed.
Returningin the mornings, Mingling with the crowd,
he was cautious of he was confusedfor
the watchfulchamberlains. a wealthy customer.
Of his boots he got out and The boss came out and
tossed them within, took him within,
and inside he went. and away he went.
Thus he did behave Thus he did abide
comparably indiscreetly. in her company but briefly.
This mightwell have This mightwell have
broughthim banishment, made him a bankruptgent,
and so he thought,at last and so she thoughtat last,
of this life he did despair. forthis love she didn't care.
He appealed to Buddha He appealed to Buddha
and the gods: 'What am I to do? and the gods: 'What am I to do ?
Pray remove fromme Pray returnto me
my lustfulheart.' my lost sweetheart.'
But he only adored her But she only abhorred him
all the more. all the more.

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14 Monumenta xxx, 1
Nipponica,
When passion grew still bolder, When she grew still colder,
he presentedhis appeal he presentedher with a bundle
to prayingfriarsand priestesses. of playing cards and toothbrushes.
They said a liturgy He sent a letter
forthe effectthat to the effectthat
he mightbe rid of all he was rid of all
affection,and bowed, infatuation,and vowed
the curse to cure. he was sincere.
Yet he loved her more than ever, Yet he loved her more than ever,
for,with more of for,with more of
theirbeseechings, theirmeetings,
his desire but increased. his desire but increased.
To cease to love, To see you, love,
I profferedthis libation. I fell into dissipation.
But the gods, But, ye gods!
They will not hear. It cost me dear.
So saying,he withdrew. So saying,he bought her anew.
Now, his majestywas a person Now, his mistresswas a person
of beautifulcountenance, of beautifulcountenance,
filledwith the spiritof Buddha, with a face like the very Buddha,
and when he chanted the sutras and when she sang her songs
in a voice harmonious, in a voice melodious,
the woman felt the two of them felt
a great chagrin. theirhearts akin.
'Such a prince,' said she, At such a point, said they,
'I cannot ministerto, 'I cannot live withoutyou.'
fate decrees. They agreed
I am to be bound to be bound
to another man.' to another land.
In tears did she dissolve. Thus did they resolve.
It came to pass that It came to pass that
the Mikado heard of the affair the madame heard of the affair
and had the man banished and had the man observed
fromthe palace. by the police.
The woman's cousin, The woman's employer,
the motherof his highness, the madame of the house,
relieved her of her duties deceived her most cruelly,
and, chastisingher, and chaining her,
shut her up in a storehouse shut her up in a storehouse
where she lamented: where she lamented:
As crabs beneath the sea As crabby as I be,
That fisherfolkreap, You ne'er saw me weep.
I may cry and moan I now cry and moan
But the Fates I do not blame. But the fault I do not disclaim.

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Rucinski: N'iseMonogatari 15
Every night the man came Every night the man came
to her in secret to play to her in secret to play
charminglyupon his fife charminglyupon his pipes
and sing sweetly and sing sweetly
of his melancholy. his silly melody.
The woman, listeningfromher The woman, listeningfromher
storehouseprison, thought, storehouseprison, thought,
'Ah, 'tis my own true love.' 'Ah, 'tis my own true love.'
But they had no way to meet. But they had no way to meet.
A poem came to her: A poem came to her:
My grievouslot My grievous lot
He knows not of. He knows not of.
He has his hope He's had his joke
Though I am sick at heart. Though he's my own sweetheart.
The man continued going The man continued going
back and forth,but back and forth,but
see her he could not. see her he could not.
Back in his place Back in his place
of hiding, he recited: of hiding, he recited:
Desiring to meet, Desiring to meet
'Tis so I come and go That sow, I come and go
In vain. In vain.
Will this heart of mine Will these feetof mine
E'er cease to ache? E'er cease to ache?
These thingsare said to have occurred These thingsare said to have occurred
under the rule of the Emperor Seiwa. under the rule of Ashikaga Takauji.
The 'mother of his highness' The 'madame of the house'
would then have been would then have been
Her Grace of the Damask Hall, the grannyfromthe dye house,
but she may have been but she may have been
Her Grace of the FifthWard. the grannyfromthe Sixth Ward.

The courtlylovestoryof Ariwarano Narihiraand thelady Takaiko33is hereretoldas


an accountof a ch6nin's34infatuation witha tayuiof Rokujj,35 thegay quarterof Kyoto
previousto 1641. This is another
cluetothedateofcomposition. From1641, Shimabarawas
thebrotheldistrict.
It was so namedforthemoat-like ditchsurroundingit, itssingleentrance,
and thesurveillanceofpeoplegoingin and outbrought to mindthefortress in Kyushu.
As Narihira'sladywas shutup in a storehouse, so was a prostitute,
apt tofollowtheincli-
nationsofherheart,keptfromherpenniless lover.It was badforthebusinessof a houseif it
was rumored thata girl was emotionally involvedwitha ne'er-do-well. Anotherformof

33 A , 842-910. 35 -t, a courtesan of highest rank; ',,


34 IA,, a townsman. I the Sixth Ward.

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16 Monumenta xxx, 1
N'ifponica,
punishment was tomakeherworkas kitchen maidforthehouse.Suchwas thefate thatbefell
Mikasa in Saikaku's Koshoku Ichidai Otoko.36
Theparodyis basedon theuntranslatable wordplay between zoshi ('innerchamber')and
sat on displaytopassersby.Otherplays on words
kashi ('lattice') behindwhichprostitutes
reinforcetheparody.As previously discussed,norimono yurusaretaruis a pun on iro
yurusaretaru. To fully appreciate it, we mustknowthatNarihira'slady was giventhe
rightto wear a shade normally not allowedto one of herclass, and theheroineof Nise
Monogatari, by virtueof herbeinga highestrankingprostitute, was allowedto use an
enclosedpalanquin,a privilegedeniedordinary citizens.
Thepoem,'To seeyou,love,'illustrates theparodistat his bestanddeservesmoreattention.
In theoriginalIse text,themandespairspoetically:
Koiseji to 'Love not,' (I prayed)
Mitarashigawa ni By thepurifying stream
Seshi misogi Andperformed ablutions.
Kami wa ukezu mo The godslistened
Narinikerukana Have not!
In Nise Monogatari, thecauseof his chagrinis somewhat
moremundane:
Koishi ya to 'For love'ssake,' (I said)
Mi ni koso kitare Comingto seeyou.
Agesen no For thebrothelfee
Kane wa motazu mo Moneyin myhand
Narinikerukana Have not!
Whena man was toopoor to buythewomanhefancied,he wouldlingerabout,like a
stage-door Johnny, beforeherwindowwhereshesat on displaytoprospective customers.
Sato e yuku ('wentto herfamilyhome')is pairedwithageya e yuku ('wentto a tea
house').Kutsu wa torite('tookoffhisshoes')-Aarihira tossesthemwellinsidetomakeit
appearhe spentthenightat thepalace-becomeskutsuwa dete ('thebrothel ownercame
out'). On'yoji kamunagi yobite ('summoning mastersof divinationand sorceresses')
becomeson'yoji karuta nado tsutsumi ('wrappingup toothbrushes, playingcards,and
such'). These toothbrusheswere willow
whittled stickswith tuftsat theend.Cleaningtheir
teethwas a mannerism and a toothbrush
of theprostitutes was an appropriategift.'When
vourbelovedcourtesan entreats
a toothbrushofyou,place oneupona tissueandhandit to her
attendant,'advisedFujimotoKizan in Shikida Okagami.37 Kizan also specifiedthe
occasionswhenkaruta couldproperly beplayed.This was a gameusinga deckofcardsmore
similarto Western cardsthantokaruta oftoday,whichis a matching ofpartsofpoems.
Expressionssuchas Takauji no ontoki38('in thetimeof Takauji') wereemployed to
referto a far distantpast. Othernamesoffeudalregimes of thepast, Higashiyama jidai
('theage ofHigashiyama')and Nobunaga jidai39 ('theage ofNobunaga'),weresimilarly

36 - A translated version of this episode 37 0 1tJj (1628-1704), tt4,k 1678.


may be found in Kengi Hamada, trans., The 38 T14
Life of an AmorousMan, Tuttle, Tokyo, 1964, 39 T4 V, 1 44
pp. 157-65.

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Rucinski: Nise Monogatari 17
used. This entireepisodeis richin theslangof theperiod,particularly theslangof thegay
quarters.The Japaneseof 'chummy' is chi'in, said of a closerelationshipbetween a pros-
tituteand a favoritecustomer.Wanzakure is something to theeffectof 'it's alright with
me' or 'no skinoffmynose'; I use 'let all theothersgo straightto hell'. Tono, literally
'lord', was thejargonfor a customer, and kutsuwa was theboss or proprietor-maleor
female-of a so-calledtea house.Agesen is thecashpaid outfor a womanand kimisama
was a termof endearment for a high-ranking
and respect courtesan.

Episode 123

Ise N'fise
In a formerday, there was Amusing to say, there was
a man who, it is thought, a man who thoughtto
had begun to weary of
a woman who
had a house on the moors. hunt a mouse on the moors.
He recited this poem: He recited this poem:
If I should fly If he should flee
From my old borough To his old burrow
Of many years, In his fears,
The deep grassesof the field In the deep grassesof the field
Will grow all the more. Will I grope all the more.
The woman replied: The mouse replied:
If field or moor it be, Though field mouse I be,
And I become a quail If I become a quail
Cryingplaintively, Cryingprettily,
Would the hunter come Would the hunterkill
Even but briefly? Ever so blithely?
Such was his admiration Such was his admiration
forthe poem that forthe poem that
he gave up parting. he gave him a pardon.

Fukakusa('Deep Grass'), thevillagewithso manyconnotations ofsad lovein traditional


literature, for theinelegant
thesetting
herebecomes pastimeofrat-hunting. The centralword-
play is a punupona pun. Kari ni dani ya wa, in thelady'sreply,meansboth'forthehunt'
and 'briefly'.The mouse'sdoublemeanings are 'forthehunt'and 'off-handedly'.
Quails,beingprizedfortheirsupposedlybeautifulsinging,appeartohavehad an easierlot
thanmice.If notkilled,theyhad theirtails cutoffand weretaughttoperform tricksas one
kindof Tokugawastreetentertainment.

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18 Monumenta xxx, 1
Nzipponica,

Episode 125

Ise N'ise
In a formerday, a man Amusing to say, a man
was taken ill, and was taken ill, and
feelingthat he would feelingthat he would
surelydie, he recited: surelydie, he recited:
Of 'that road men travel For that road men travel
In the end' In the end,
I have heard tell formerly. I have no need of currency.
But I bethoughtit not So I bestowed the lot
My leave-takingshould be today! On the sutra-readingpriest today!

Becauseof theambiguities of theterm,kino kyo, in this,thelastpoemof Ise Mono-


gatari,I havetakenmorethantheusual licencewiththetranslation oftheparody.Literally,
thelast linesare as follows:
kino kyo to wa kino kyo yomu
omowazarishi so ni kureshio
today,
yesterday, yesterday sutrasread
I did notthink priestto I gave

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