Hyakunin Isshu Oracle

No.91 後京極摂政前太政大臣(九条良経)「きりぎりす 鳴くや霜夜の さむしろに 衣かたしき ひとりかも寝む」

きりぎりす 鳴くや霜夜の さむしろに 衣かたしき ひとりかも寝む

後京極摂政前太政大臣(九条良経)

robe spread on one side only — frost, a cricket, and me

robe spread on one side only — frost, a cricket, and me

キーワードKeywords

CricketFrost NightThin MatHalf-Spread RobeSleeping Alone
Nature/Seasons Autumn

後京極摂政前太政大臣(九条良経)Kujō Yoshitsune — No. 91 公卿Court Noble

A regent and chancellor who wrote the Japanese preface to the Shin Kokinshū and excelled at calligraphy.

きりぎりす なくやしもよの さむしろに ころもかたしき ひとりかもねむ

Kirigirisu Naku ya shimoyo no Samushiro ni Koromo katashiki Hitori kamo nemu

現代語訳Modern Japanese

コンセプトConcept

情景The Scene

Frost night, a cricket still going somewhere in the cold, a thin mat on the floor. He spreads his robe on one side only — there is no second side to prepare — and lies down on that.

日本の美意識Japanese Aesthetic

Wabi (Beauty of the Insufficient)

Loneliness is conveyed by a bedding arrangement: one layer, one side. Domestic detail outperforms emotional statement because the audience has to complete it themselves.