"Rocks at the Ocean's Fringe"

On the first day of every Japanese year, while the sun is rising, ten poems are read as pompously as possible to the Son of Heaven, His Imperial Majesty the Emperor Hirohito, 124th lineal descendant of the Sun Goddess.

To write a poem and have it read among the supreme ten--what exquisite happiness ! Every year at least 30,000 Japanese write and enter poems in the contest. If they live abroad they frequently cable them to the Imperial Household Ministry. Last week the Ministry announced, amid general rejoicing, that the set theme for Imperial Poems this year will be "KAIHEN NO IWAWO" or "ROCKS AT THE OCEAN'S FRINGE."

This is considered an easy theme, much easier than that of two years ago--"THE COLORING OF THE MOUNTAIN BECOMES MORE BRILLIANT"--a stumper which proved difficult to get into the requisite tanka form of 31 syllables, in lines of five, seven, five, seven and seven syllables (TIME, Feb. 6, 1928).

As usual, the sublime Emperor himself will write a tanka, but his will not be entered in the competition. Poems must be in by Dec. 16, will be judged at lightning speed by a competent corps of metrical experts, and the winning ten read at break of the New Year (Jan. 1).

Greatest, perhaps, of tanka turners was Kamo Mabuchi (1697-1769), who claimed to be descended from the divine Three-Legged Crow which guided the first Japanese emperor, Jimmu, in all his conquests. Crow Scion Mabuchi credited whatever evils befell Japan to her contact with "debased Chinese learning." His greatest pupil, Motoori Norinaga (1730-1801) wrote perhaps the most popular and typical of tankas:

If one should ask you What is the heart Of Island Yamato-- It is the mountain cherry-blossom Which exhales its perfume in the morning sun.

Every year the Imperial tanka theme is moulded and painted by leading sculptors and artists as well as poetized-- therefore it must always be visual.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.