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Candia Comes Clean

~ Candid cultural comments from the Isles of Wonder

Tag Archives: Murasaki Shikibu

Revised Opinion

02 Saturday Dec 2017

Posted by Candia in Arts, Literature, Nature, Nostalgia, Poetry, Writing

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

choka, Murasaki Shikibu, Pillow Book, Yang Kuei

File:Flowers of Pear Tree.jpg

(Pear tree blossom by Ruslan; Wikimedia Commons ; uploaded to Flickr by Pauk)

 

 

The pear tree’s blossom

seemed of little consequence

to my casual glance.

I would not have fastened it

to a love letter;

but when I scrutinised it,

I noticed something

quite remarkable, in fact:

its petals have a blush tinge,

right around the edge

and so, I then understood

why Yang Kuei’s face,

dampened with tears, was described

as a rain-streaked spray of pear.

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Fujitsubo

27 Friday Oct 2017

Posted by Candia in art, Arts, Literature, Nostalgia, Poetry, Relationships, Romance, Social Comment, Writing

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Tags

Fujitsubo, Genji, Murasaki Shikibu

Fujitsubo’s voice

curled round her hangings, like smoke.

Genji, now a man,

could no longer draw these drapes

and, if he were to visit

over-sensitive women,

he would freeze to death

on their balconies, while they

admired the swirling snowflakes,

his friend advised him.

When the colours of a robe

don’t match the season,

it is like the wrong partner

and your heart is frost-damaged.

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Clandestine Love

25 Wednesday Oct 2017

Posted by Candia in art, Arts, Literature, Poetry, Psychology, Relationships, Romance, Writing

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Tags

clandestine love, Genji, Murasaki Shikibu, Utagawa

(Utagawa, JAOD)

 

Love seemed a torment:

it had all been so fleeting

and now she was gone.

He could not quench his regrets

and felt deep despair.

Why had he left her alone?

Orange blossom scent

mingled with his memories.

Everything seemed so dream-like.

No explanation

of her death seemed to make sense.

O, clandestine love,

your effects are so profound;

your inception so shallow.

 

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Cloistered

24 Tuesday Oct 2017

Posted by Candia in art, Arts, Literature, Poetry, Relationships, Religion, Romance, Writing

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Tags

Chikanobu Yoshu, Genji, Murasaki Shikibu

(Chikanobu: Snow-bijin entering

the temple. JAOD)

 

Everything changes;

nothing lasts, the old nun said.

To see a beauty

in a nunnery was odd.

Hiding from the world

must be a sad reaction.

He was made restless

by that one, brief glimpse of her.

But she would not answer him;

she would rather die.

He saw it as haughtiness.

A man’s insistence,

she felt, was just like the wind

which would blow hot and then cold.

 

 

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Taking her Vows

24 Tuesday Oct 2017

Posted by Candia in art, Arts, Literature, Poetry, Psychology, Relationships, Religion, Writing

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Tags

Genji, Kotozuka Eiichi, Murasaki Shikibu

(Kotozuka Eiichi: JAOD)

 

In the tedium,

the gloom became contagious.

His querulousness

was becoming quite tiresome.

She felt like someone

half-way across a log bridge,

not knowing which way

she should go: forward, or back?

Irresolution gripped her.

Then she determined

that she would take her vows – now!

She sought no favour,

other than the way of peace.

.

 

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Unique

23 Monday Oct 2017

Posted by Candia in art, Arts, Fashion, Literature, Poetry, Psychology, Relationships, Social Comment, Writing

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Genji, Kiyoshi Saito, Murasaki Shikibu, Oigimi, Sanjo princess

(Kiyoshi Saito; Maiko Kyoto.

JAOD)

 

Although you can wear

the same clothing as others,

everyone’s unique,

even if they’re related.

You can’t summon up

individual qualities.

The Sanjo princess

did not quite reach his standard,

whatever she was dressed in.

She wasn’t equal

to Oigimi after all,

but he could train her.

She had a fair bit to learn.

He hoped she would not shame him.

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The Way Forward

23 Monday Oct 2017

Posted by Candia in art, Arts, Family, Literature, Poetry, Relationships, Social Comment, Writing

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Genji, Hiroshige, marriage, Murasaki Shikibu

(Hiroshige.  JAOD)

 

With tastes beyond means,

you are asking for trouble.

Dependable, safe

marriage will bring you comfort.

A man needs backing.

A good father-in-law helps:

on both sides favours.

Settle the verdant foothills

and eschew the volcanoes!

Think of your good name;

moderate your ambitions.

That’s the way to peace.

Overlook minor details

and you’ll see the way forward.

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Siren Call

22 Sunday Oct 2017

Posted by Candia in art, Arts, Literature, Poetry, Psychology, Relationships, Romance, Writing

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Tags

Genji, Masao Ebina, Murasaki Shikibu, siren, Ukifune

(Masao Ebina.  Japanese  Art Open

Database)

 

Deeper and deeper

she withdrew into herself.

She’d found his visits

a source of consolation.

Her house appeared cursed.

Impossible dilemmas

arose every day.

She felt the river beckon

and answered its siren call.

He heard his neglect

reflected in the torrents.

He found no closure

and no clear explanations,

but he did not follow her.

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Preventing Fate

21 Saturday Oct 2017

Posted by Candia in art, Arts, Literature, Poetry, Relationships, Religion, Writing

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Tags

Fate, Murasaki Shikibu, sutra, Takeji

(JAOD : Takeji)

 

It is a grave sin

to die before one’s parent,

but it was too late:

they would meet in the next world.

The sutras were said;

monastery bells sounded.

She gave not a hint

of what she was intending.

Her soul began to wander.

She left her body.

Not a trace was left of her.

Dark confusion reigned.

Her mother’s dream foretold this,

but she could not prevent Fate.

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Drifting Boat

21 Saturday Oct 2017

Posted by Candia in art, Arts, Literature, Poetry, Psychology, Relationships, Romance, Writing

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Tags

Genji, Murasaki Shikibu, Toyohara, Ukifune

(Ukifune 1882.  Toyohara.

Japanese Art Open Database)

 

Treacherous river,

you have drowned many people.

If she were to die,

Ukifune considered,

it would end her woes.

She developed a talent:

dissimulation.

The general clearly knew

that something was going on.

Her indecision

led to a paralysis.

She longed for an end –

the world seemed only torment.

Even Death was to elude her.

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← Older posts

My name is Candia. Its initial consonant alliterates with “cow” and there are connotations with the adjective “candid.” I started writing this blog in the summer of 2012 and focused on satire at the start.

Interspersed was ironic news comment, reviews and poetry.

Over the years I have won some international poetry competitions and have published in reputable small presses, as well as reviewing and reading alongside well- established poets. I wrote under my own name then, but Candia has taken me over as an online persona. Having brought out a serious anthology last year called 'Its Own Place' which features poetry of an epiphanal nature, I was able to take part in an Arts and Spirituality series of lectures in Winchester in 2016.

Lately I have been experimenting with boussekusekeika, sestinas, rhyme royale, villanelles and other forms. I am exploring Japanese themes at the moment, my interest having been re-ignited by the recent re-evaluations of Hokusai.

Thank you to all my committed followers whose loyalty has encouraged me to keep writing. It has been exciting to meet some of you in the flesh- in venues as far flung as Melbourne and Sydney!

Copyright Notice

© Candia Dixon Stuart and Candiacomesclean.wordpress.com, 2012-2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Candia Dixon Stuart and candiacomesclean.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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