Year
Emperor Jyomei (593-641 AD)
In the land of Yamato
there are many mountains,
though none so sweet as Kagu,
mountain of the gods.
I climb up
and see all the earth—
the smoke that rises
when people cook;
the sea, and all the birds
that flit around.
What a beautiful land
this is—Yamato.
Note: Yamato is the ancient name for Japan and is also an area in modern Nara.
Original Text | Modern Text | Pronunciation |
舒明天皇 | 舒明天皇 | Jyo-mei Tenno |
山常庭 | 大和には | Yamato niha |
村山有等 | 群山あれど | Murayama aredo |
取與呂布 | とりよろふ | Tori-yorou |
天乃香具山 | 天の香具山 | Ame no Kaguyama |
騰立 | 登り立ち | Nobori tachi |
國見乎為者 | 国見をすれば | Kunimi wo sureba |
國原波 | 国原は | Kunihara ha |
煙立龍 | 煙立ち立つ | Keburi tachi-tatsu |
海原波 | 海原は | Unahara ha |
加萬目立多都 | 鴎立ち立つ | Kamame tachi-tatsu |
怜Ａ國曽 | うまし国ぞ | Umashi kuni zo |
蜻嶋 | 蜻蛉島 | Akizu-shima |
八間跡能國者 | 大和の国は | Yamato no Kuni ha |
Translation Notes
The poem made by emperor while he was seeing people from Heavens’s [Kagu/Fragrant-Ingredient] Mountain.
大和には | in Yamato county |
群山あれど | there are many mountains though |
とりよろふ | Especially (word to applaud 香久山) |
天の香具山 | Heavens’s [Kagu/Fragrant-Ingredient] Mountain |
登り立ち | rises |
国見をすれば | seeing from the top |
国原は | On the land |
煙立ち立つ | (I see) smoke for cooking |
海原は | On the water |
鴎立ち立つ | (I see) birds are flitting around |
うまし国ぞ | what a beautiful country |
蜻蛉島 | (this word always leads “yamatai-kok”) |
大和の国は | yamato county is |
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