Hyakunin Isshu Oracle

No.24 菅家(菅原道真)「このたびは 幣もとりあへず 手向山 紅葉の錦 神のまにまに」

このたびは 幣もとりあへず 手向山 紅葉の錦 神のまにまに

菅家(菅原道真)

no offering in my pack — take the red hill instead

no offering in my pack — take the red hill instead

キーワードKeywords

OfferingAutumn BrocadeRoadside ShrineImprovised GiftMount Tamuke
★★★ Journey

菅家(菅原道真)Sugawara no Michizane — No. 24 公卿Court Noble

The Minister of the Right now worshipped as the god of learning; he lost a political struggle, was exiled to Dazaifu and died there.

このたびは ぬさもとりあへず たむけやま もみぢのにしき かみのまにまに

Kono tabi wa Nusa mo toriaezu Tamukeyama Momiji no nishiki Kami no manimani

現代語訳Modern Japanese

コンセプトConcept

情景The Scene

A traveler reaches a mountain shrine with nothing prepared — no paper streamers, no proper offering. Around him the slope is solid red. He offers the mountain itself, on the grounds that it is already the god’s.

日本の美意識Japanese Aesthetic

Mitate (Nature as Craft)

Leaves are reframed as woven brocade, which makes them presentable as a gift. Reframing what you already have as a finished work is a legitimate move — improvisation with authority.