“Senka Himeshima” (The Boat that
passes Himeshima).
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
Noticing Himeshima, on crossing the Bo-shu-nan3; a poem entices.
(1)The ridge of a goddess, out at sea. (Referring to Yahazu)
(2)To whom does the beautiful appearance adore to?
(3)Sent off into the distance; the brilliant moon [light].
(4)Flowing over the surface of the sea, the radiant moon light; it is as beautiful as the moon light filtering down onto a palace.
(The Japanese gives reference to “12 layers”, these 12 layers refers to the layers of kimono Heian women wore; the moon light is as beautiful as the 12 layers of kimono.)
Notes:
1Monk Ho-getsu was born November 1737 in Chikugo ( Fukuoka ) Nagafuku Temple . At the age of 16 he became the 10th head monk of Nagafuku temple in Hita. He died on October 7th 1805 at the age of 69. During this time, he went to Tokyo and studied Buddhist poetry.
2Bungo is an Edo period term still used today refering to the a place in relation to Dazaifu. Bungo, would mean “after” and Buzen refers to “before” or closer to Dazaifu.
Kyushu （九州）means nine provinces.
These provinces are:
1. Chikuzen（筑前） now known as Fukuoka（福岡）
2. Chikugo（筑後）now known as Fukuoka（福岡）
3. Buzen（豊前）now known as Oita（大分）
4. Bungo（豊後）now known as Oita（大分）
5. Hizen（肥前）now known as Saga（佐賀）
6. Higo（肥後）now known as（熊本）
7. Hyu-ga（日向）now known as Kumamoto（宮崎）
8. O-sumi（大隈）now known as Kagoshima（鹿児島）
9. Satsuma（薩摩）now known as Kagoshima（鹿児島）
Okinawa is presently a part of Kyushu when in the past however, it was referred to as Karaimo（唐いも）from To in China . Hence it is said that the dialect of Okinawa closely resembles that region of China .
3Bo-shu-nan（防州難）refers to the channel of water between Himeshima and mainland Kyushu. In the past, it referred to the small area of the Seto Inland Sea north of Himeshima, south of Yamaguchi, and east of Fukuoka . This smaller area was called Suo-nada（周防難）. The larger area was referred to as the Seto Inland Sea（瀬戸内海）.
