Comments | uesugi_gakuto: More Kenshin poem!

mingoes in uesugi_gakuto

More Kenshin poem!

Jan 20, 2010 23:52

After reading and searching more about the 'Blossoms and Swords' mentioned in my previous post here, I just discovered -well me stupid anyways not having read carefully the postscript of the book- that in the poem 'Sword dance', the mentioned hero here is Kenshin. Perhaps you already concluded it like that, but I wasn't sure myself, as Kenshin ( Read more... )

uesugi kenshin, uesugi quotes, poems

Comments 7

wongkk January 21 2010, 16:18:59 UTC

Ooh! More lovely stuff! I'm not surprised you're tired. And may my own nights be sleepless from now on ( ... )

mingoes January 22 2010, 21:02:38 UTC

Now I failed to type out wait the post scriptum said.. But to clear up.
The chieftain is indeed Shingen, but the hero, is the one with the white helm. He, Kenshin, flashes his sword, Shingen was only with his battle fan (the dork, if he already saw Kenshin coming from afar...get the sharpen blade in hand?!?...). So the blood would be from Shingen. Though this...let's say minor detail huh ^^;. Scipt says that Shingen could be dead, and I've read somewhere, it was one of Shingens generals who stabbed, but the injury to the noble steed, caused Shingen the snake to flee!

wongkk January 25 2010, 16:58:20 UTC

Mmm. How do you make the white-helm man the hero of the sword dance? The poem seems to have the Chieftain as its subject and the Chieftain’s sword (specially sharpened). The poet has chosen to use the sword-dance form and the sword seems to be shingen's all the way through ( ... )

bitrswtsymphony January 23 2010, 19:23:19 UTC

What about 'The Forlorn Hope?' who's poem is that? If 'The Night Watch' poem is from Kenshin, is the former poem from one of his retainers?

It seams to me the Cheiftan is Shingen, but as for that last line:

According to history/legend, neither one of them hit each other; Kenshin was driven back by a vassal I believe.

So, I actually stand that the line is symbolic. The poem as a whole echo's a more symbolic interpretation of the actual event.

The symbolic part is that, even though they didn't draw blood directly from each other, the vassal that was hit was like drawing that 'first blood', since the two of them were so close in proximity to each other.

I can't think of the right words at the moment to better describe that idea but hopefully it comes across alright....

off topic, but it's actually reminiscent to a very similar famous confrontation that happened in Ancient Greece, which is also depicted in a pretty famous (or at least well seen) painting (fresco, I believe it actually was).

wongkk January 25 2010, 17:13:00 UTC

The book contents page just says, for this item, "anon from an anceint tanka" poem so who knows?

This book seems to be an artistic, rather than a scholarly work, so I'm not sure that there is any scheme to or connexion between the pieces (written by someone in kenshin's camp). Also, I think that's why you're right in saying that the effect of the sword dance piece is "symbolic" - it gives the effect of two old enemies in the thrill of a one-to-one fight.

bitrswtsymphony January 27 2010, 19:21:35 UTC

oh I see. I wonder if there's a scholarly-like collection then in existence somewhere...

wongkk January 27 2010, 19:36:54 UTC

That certainly would be good! I don't know of one but then I can't really read Japanese so I would be able to search well; sadly, I'm not the right person to ask. It would be good even to find a collection of kenshin's poems in the original Japanese. Someone like mingoes or ashura_oh might know.