銘Mei

 

白波 Shiranami

 

藤原忠通の「わたの原こぎいでてみれば久方の雲ゐにまがう沖つ白波」という歌の印象で、 広い海を想像できます。

 

わたのはら漕ぎ出でてみれば久かたの雲ゐにまがふ沖つ白波（詞花381）[百]

【通釈】海原に漕ぎ出して遠望すると、沖合には、雲と見紛うばかりに白波が立っている。

【語釈】◇わたのはら　大海原。「わた」は海を指す古語。万葉集には「わたつみ」「わたの底」などの語が見える。◇久かたの　雲にかかる枕詞。◇雲ゐ　雲のあるところ、空。単に雲の意味にも転用された。この歌では空とみる説と雲とみる説が古来対立。

 

Over the wide sea / Wata no hara

As I sail and look around, / Kogi idete mireba

It appears to me / Hisakata no

That the white waves, far away, / Kumoi ni mago

Are the ever shining sky. / Okitsu shiranami

Fujiwara no Tadamichi

 

The tanka above by Fujiwara no Tadamichi is number 76 of the Hyakunin Isshū (anthology of 100 poems by 100 different poets). The tanka finishes with the word ‘shiranami’ or ‘white waves’ as it is translated in English. The poem evokes the image of a vast ocean scenery where the white clouds blend with the white waves of the ocean. The sailor is lost in wonder of where the ocean stops and the sky starts. There is a taste of the Buddhist concept of non-duality or 'muichimotsu' or 'funi'. In the heat of summer, imagining this scene in the tearoom is very cooling.

 

 

有明月　Ariakezuki

 

夜が明けかけても、空に残っている月。「有明の月になりけり母の影／宝井其角（たからいきかく）1661～1707」。Ariakezuki refers to the moon still visible in the sky after dawn has broken. Here is a haiku with the word in by the poet Takarai Kikaku:

 

The moon / ariake no

in the dawn sky！/ tsuki ni narikeri

mother’s shadow / haha no kage

 

 

真如の月　Shinnyo no Tsuki

真如 (しんにょ、梵語tatathata)は、金剛経(こんごうきょう)のサンスクリット本に出ます。「真」とは真実、「如」とは如常の意味です。真如の月とは、真如によって煩悩 (ぼんのう)の迷いがはれることを、明月が夜の闇を照らすのにたとえていうことばです。

’Shinnyo’ (Sanskrit: ‘tathata’) is a Mahayana Buddhist concept that appears in the Diamond Sutra. The word is used to refer to the ultimate, unchanging reality of all phenomena. The Japanese word, has two components indicating "truth" (shin) and "as it is as such" (nyo). Shinnyo no Tsuki is a poetic reference to the way the moon lights up the darkness of the sky. The brilliant luminance of the moon’s light is a metaphor for shinnyo, the ultimate truth, awakening beings from their worldly ignorance and opening their eyes towards enlightenment.

 

 

夏の夜 Natsu no Yo

 

つい夜ふかしをしがちな夏の夜、心地よいですね。夜の空に浮く月を眺めていると、なかなか飽きないものです。

The balmy summer evenings feel so great we find ourselves enjoying the mild weather until late. And the bright moon that seems to float in the black sky – you can never tire of gazing at it.

 

夏の夜や崩れて明し冷し物　　芭蕉　

natsu no yo ya / kuzurete akeshi / hiyashimono　

Summer night! / broken dawn / chilled-food by Basho

 

Summer night –

At dawn, scattered leftovers

Of cold food, so cold

 

 

秋風　Akikaze

旧盆を過ぎると、いくぶん涼しくもなり、秋らしい風情も感じられるようになります。

In later summer after the Bon festival in Japan the weather becomes somewhat cooler and one can sense the autumn breeze. Akikaze refers to the autumn-like breezes of late summer.

 

 

せせらぎ　Seseragi

浅い瀬などで水がさらさらと流れる音です。

Seseragi refers to the cool and soothing sound of water flowing over small rocks in the shallows of a stream.

 

 

Links

http://freett.com/roman/mei.html

http://river9.chagasi.com/tea9.html

http://www.sadoukaikan.com/tea/saijiki.html

http://blog.goo.ne.jp/m-tamago/e/5089b953f9ea030708353dd38853487c