Poem
Chimako Tada
TANKA FROM PERSON OF THE PLAYFUL STAR
The palm of the handHas both a back and a front
Turning it over
And back again, a day spent
In sickness draws to a close
Since it was he who
Spilled the blood of tens of
Thousands of people
He should not die after
So many blood transfusions
(On hearing of the critical condition of the Shōwa Emperor)
Karma of women
And the karma of men
Entangling and
Dying the world the pattern
Of a serpent’s stomach
Like a twisted rope
The karma of men and women
Continually
Clinging to one another
Yet still always pulled apart
I bathe myself to
My heart’s content in the
Meteor shower
Later in my cancer ward
I bathe in radiation
Various wonders
Have already lost their sense
Of wonder
Wonderland heads for
Its own sure destruction
We roll the dice
And play our game, we the people
Of the playful star
Doing the forbidden and
Turning the skies round and round
Born as we are onto
This playful star of deep green
Why is it we do
Not dedicate ourselves to
Playing for all we are worth?
© Translation: 2010, Jeffrey Angles
From: Forest of Eyes: Selected Poetry of Tada Chimako
Publisher: University of California Press, Berkeley, California, USA, 2010
The words “playful star” are a literal rendering of the word yūsei (遊星) meaning “planet.” (Ancient Chinese astronomers saw the planets as “playful stars” that wandered across the heavens according to their own whimsical logic. This word, inherited from Chinese, is still used in modern Japan.)
The Shōwa Emperor (1901-89), also known in the West by his personal name “Hirohito,” was the emperor who was in charge of Japan during the era of World War II. The ironic tanka poem about his death represents one of Tada’s rare moments of overt social commentary in verse.
From: Forest of Eyes: Selected Poetry of Tada Chimako
Publisher: University of California Press, Berkeley, California, USA, 2010
TANKA FROM PERSON OF THE PLAYFUL STAR
てのひらに裏表あり裏返し表返して病める日暮れぬ
幾萬人に血を流させし人なれば大量の輸血受けて死なれず
女の業（ごふ）男の業（ごふ）と絡み合ひ蛇腹模様に世を染めなせり
あざなへる縄にも似たる女男（めを）の業互みに縋り曳きずられつつ
流星雨心ゆくまで浴びてのち癌病棟に放射線浴ぶ
さまざまのふしぎがふしぎでなくなりて不思議の国は滅びに向かふ
骰子（さい）振つて遊べるわれや禁断の天を転がる遊星の人
みどり濃きこの遊星に生まれてきてなどひたすらに遊ばざらめや
© 2005, Chimako Tada
From: Yusei no hito (Person of the Playful Star)
Publisher: Yuhshin Bunko, Saitama, Japan
From: Yusei no hito (Person of the Playful Star)
Publisher: Yuhshin Bunko, Saitama, Japan
Poems
Poems of Chimako Tada
Close
TANKA FROM PERSON OF THE PLAYFUL STAR
The palm of the handHas both a back and a front
Turning it over
And back again, a day spent
In sickness draws to a close
Since it was he who
Spilled the blood of tens of
Thousands of people
He should not die after
So many blood transfusions
(On hearing of the critical condition of the Shōwa Emperor)
Karma of women
And the karma of men
Entangling and
Dying the world the pattern
Of a serpent’s stomach
Like a twisted rope
The karma of men and women
Continually
Clinging to one another
Yet still always pulled apart
I bathe myself to
My heart’s content in the
Meteor shower
Later in my cancer ward
I bathe in radiation
Various wonders
Have already lost their sense
Of wonder
Wonderland heads for
Its own sure destruction
We roll the dice
And play our game, we the people
Of the playful star
Doing the forbidden and
Turning the skies round and round
Born as we are onto
This playful star of deep green
Why is it we do
Not dedicate ourselves to
Playing for all we are worth?
© 2010, Jeffrey Angles
From: Forest of Eyes: Selected Poetry of Tada Chimako
Publisher: 2010, University of California Press, Berkeley, California, USA
From: Forest of Eyes: Selected Poetry of Tada Chimako
Publisher: 2010, University of California Press, Berkeley, California, USA
TANKA FROM PERSON OF THE PLAYFUL STAR
The palm of the handHas both a back and a front
Turning it over
And back again, a day spent
In sickness draws to a close
Since it was he who
Spilled the blood of tens of
Thousands of people
He should not die after
So many blood transfusions
(On hearing of the critical condition of the Shōwa Emperor)
Karma of women
And the karma of men
Entangling and
Dying the world the pattern
Of a serpent’s stomach
Like a twisted rope
The karma of men and women
Continually
Clinging to one another
Yet still always pulled apart
I bathe myself to
My heart’s content in the
Meteor shower
Later in my cancer ward
I bathe in radiation
Various wonders
Have already lost their sense
Of wonder
Wonderland heads for
Its own sure destruction
We roll the dice
And play our game, we the people
Of the playful star
Doing the forbidden and
Turning the skies round and round
Born as we are onto
This playful star of deep green
Why is it we do
Not dedicate ourselves to
Playing for all we are worth?
© 2010, Jeffrey Angles
From: Forest of Eyes: Selected Poetry of Tada Chimako
Publisher: 2010, University of California Press, Berkeley, California, USA
From: Forest of Eyes: Selected Poetry of Tada Chimako
Publisher: 2010, University of California Press, Berkeley, California, USA
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