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Ima Komachi

今小町

[Genre]Jiuta
[Style]Tegotomono
[School]Ikuta Ryû - 生田
[Composed]Yaezaki Kengyō - Koto
Kikuoka Kengyō - Shamisen

Poem (translated by John Tedford)

Maeuta:

Her rank as lofty as the noble pine [1].
Her form as delicate as the willow.

Like the blossoms of the cherry tree,
and the fragrance of the plum
she overflows
with gentle charm.
Raindrops in the moonlight
or dewdrops on the bushclover:

as tender a love as these
is what she yearns for.
In love, she wanders astray,
like a butterfly in flight.
Surely the depth of her passion
is no less deep [2]
than that of the noble general
who bore the name Fukakusa

and courted Ono no Komachi
faithfully one hundred nights.
Her love is as deep
as the marshes of Asaka [3]
which draw so many admirers
to view the flowering iris.
Even if a man has the strength
of that ancient Chinese hero
who was said to crush the mountains
in his hands [4],

if he should lack her love

he can but pull in vain
at her trailing kimono sleeves.

For she is a woman of the
pleasure district:
as beautiful as the famous Komachi.

TEGOTO

Atouta:

She is indeed a flower
of the highest rank
and he who thinks to have his way with her
may find her to be a mountain tempest.
But her heart is not so hard
as the trees and mountain crags,

and even she may fall prey
to the charms of a suave and gallant man.

She cannot resist his charms
and like an over laden boat [5]
she sinks to the bottom
of that deep pool called love.

She suffers when they cannot meet
and she laments
the long days
which drag by
like the tail of the mountain pheasant.
But in secret

they shall meet tonight
and share a pillow as if newly wed.

The hard and binding knot
of her accumulated, unstated love
will joyfully come undone:
a dream of spring.

[1] noble pine: the highest rank of courtesan/prostitutes was entitled "pine."
[2] is no less deep: a play on words, Fukakusa means "deep grass."
[3] Asaka: a play on words, Asaka [place] contrasted with asakaranu [is not shallow].
[4]in his hands: a reference to a classical Chinese hero who could crush mountains in his hands, but faltered at winning the love of a beautiful woman.
[5] over laden boat: a play on words, i [(say) no] and ina [rice (-laden boat)].

Ima Komachi appears on the following albums

Album Artist

Abe Keiko Record Set - 06 Shamisen : Inoue Michiko
Voice : Abe Keiko
Shamisen : Abe Keiko
Koto : Fujii Kunie
Play ButtonFujii Kunie Sokyoku Jiuta No Sekai 2

Sankyoku Gassō Dai Zenshū (zoku) vol. 3 (続三曲合奏大全集3) Shakuhachi : Aoki Reibo II
Voice : Ōta Hisako
Shamisen : Ōta Hisako
Koto : Andō Emi
Voice : Kuriyama Ioko
Shamisen : Kuriyama Ioko

Sasagawa Shizue no Shigei Vol. 7 Shamisen : Sasagawa Shizue
Koto : Suzuki Kazuko

Sokyoku Jiuta Taikei 33 Shamisen : Inoue Michiko
Voice : Abe Keiko
Shamisen : Abe Keiko
Koto : Fujii Kunie

Zoku Sō-Sangen-Shakuhachi ni yoru Mei Senshū - volume 3 Voice : Matsuo Keiko
Koto : Matsuo Keiko
Shamisen : Mori Yūji