Culture Essay > Culter Essay > Sunshine's Culture Essay - Son Hoyun and Tanka by Nakanishi Susumu

Professor Susumu Nakanishi (95) who gave a keynote speech at the Son Hoyun Centennial International Literature Forum, while now known in Korea, is not only Japan's representative intellectual but also the mentor of the current Emperor and his father, as well as the foremost researcher of Japan's oldest poetry collection 'Manyoshu'

When Emperor Naruhito ascended the throne in 2019, Nakanishi created the era name 'Reiwa' which can be seen everywhere in Japan.

It is said that it took 20 years for Nakanishi to come up with the era name from the 20 volume 'Manyoshu' According to a documentary aired in Japanese TV, during World War II when Tokyo was devastated and in chaos, he, at the age of 10, memorized every page of an English dictionary given to him by his English teacher because there were no study books available.

My mother, upon returning to Tokyo for research in 1979, tearfully expressed that she should probably abandon the poetry form tanka. Nakanishi responded by saying that if she went to see the Baegmagang River upon returning, it would inspire better poetry as tanka was from the Korean peninsula. He also praised her poems for their high literary quality in speeches and writings, and said if there were a Poetry Olympics, Son would undoubtedly win the gold medal. The modest poet Hoyun Son thus became well-known in Japan, recognized as the master in the tanka world of Japanese high culture.

He has been criticized for claiming Koreans’ role in Japan’s treasured 'Manyoshu' but he firmly stands by his assertion. Surprisingly, Japanese newspapers reported that he said he has been planning events annually from the age of 90 to 120 and has only managed to execute three so far (it seems he wrote this at 93).

At the age of 85, he remarried and came to international forums, accompanied by his wife with representative poets from Japan, and he was awarded the inaugural 'Son Hoyun Peace Literature Prize'

In 2003, when my mother passed away, a seminar was held in Kyoto to honor the poet Hoyun Son, attended by poets from both Korea and Japan.

Over the years, he has been considered the greatest contributor from Japan to long-standing friendship between Korea and Japan.

Here is the shortened version of the professor’s keynote speech.

Sunshine Lee

Son Hoyun Peace Literature Prize Winner

Nakashishi Susumu 中西進

Why did Hoyun Son, born in Korea, write tanka poems?

When I first met her, I often heard her say, "I hear ‘There are traditional Korean poems, Shijo, too’, from people a lot." I told her, "Ms. Son, don't worry too much about that," but before I could explain the reason in detail, the poet Hoyun Son left.

(1) Why did she choose tanka as a means of expression?

In Korea, when we talk about tanka, it's not uncommon to refer to traditional poems as well. This indicates that traditional Korean poetry and tanka are not entirely unrelated.

Tanka has 31 syllables, with a 5-7-5-7-7 pattern, while traditional Korean poetry has 46 (49) syllables, so they are different from each other.

The 5-7 pattern and the 7-5 pattern have different rhythms, with the former creating a solemn melody and the latter a lively one, but the essence of these rhythms is deeply rooted in the national character.

Therefore, Hoyun Son composed tanka, but she did not abandon traditional Korean poetry. Instead, she considered it beautiful to elongate certain parts of Shijo’s pronunciation, imbuing them with deep emotions.

Although the rhythms of 5-7 and 7-5 are different, both have deep roots in national identity.

Therefore, Hoyun Son did not abandon traditional Korean poetry when he wrote tanka. Instead, he thought it was beautiful to elongate some parts of traditional Korean poetry and express deep emotions.

Oracle 神託

Tanka originally consisted of three lines. Tanka also has the aspect of "divine interpretation."

In that sense, there’s nothing too unfeasible to see tanka as part of three-line poetry. In fact, it is not difficult to restore the historical development of tanka from ancient 'Manyo-shu' Special languages such as poetry and tanka serve as divine announcements, leading us into unique emotional landscapes with rhythm.

Hoyun Son instinctively knew from a young age how to release the precious words and phrases accumulated in her body in a style that suits her best. What she accomplished with genius in a foreign language was her tanka, which was by no means an imitation of Japanese people.

(2) What is tanka?

What did Hoyun Son try to express through tanka?

There may not be a single answer to this question.

Hoyun Son lived in an era of tremendous turmoil.

Her father studied abroad at Waseda University in Japan, indicating that she was from an intellectual and affluent family. After graduating from Jinmyeong Middle and High School, she was sent to Japan for further study by the last Crown Princess of Korea, Yi Bangja. When she returned home after graduating from university in 1944, the Second World War ended in 1945, bringing significant changes to the poet's life.

Hoyun Son lived through these experiences.

1923: Born during the Japanese occupation

1944: Graduated from Tokyo Women's University at the age of 21

1945: Liberation of the homeland at the age of 22

1947: Marriage to Yun-mo Lee at the age of 24

1948: Father's abduction due to the division of the Koreas at the age of 25

1950: Korean War

1953: Three years of taking refuge in Choryang

1983: Husband's death at the age of 60

2001: Aggravation of renal cancer at the age of 78

2003: Passing away at the age of 80

Her tanka is the testimony of the results of her acceptance of such a life

head-on.

Once comrades at one time, now separated by harsh history

The liberation of the homeland brought joy, but for young Hoyun Son, the sole Korean teacher at Mu Hak High School, it meant parting ways with colleagues. This humanity now strikes my heart deeply.

There were days when I had to hold my homeland in my heart and wave the Japanese national flag

A person cannot have two homelands. Therefore, it would be right to say I had to 'hold the genuine homeland in my heart' She knows this without saying it. However, even amidst the division of the homeland, one can glimpse such 'kindness'

Saving the poet who fell into the depths of despair after a sudden death of her husband was also tanka. Cancer that struck in her later years. I am amazed at the transparency of the poetry created while fighting against it. Such outstanding works exist.

Walking through the chilly maze a room that determines life and death in the examination room appears

This poem sings of the experience of lying in the ambulance, before reaching the examination room. The situation in the passing corridor feels like the organs in the body, and at the same time, it resembles a maze that a person nearing death gropes through. It is indeed like the life of a person who must make life-or-death decisions moment by moment.

Creating such scenery is the lyricism of tanka. When you see such lyrics of Hoyun Son, it seems like she obtained relief of mind by dedicating the moment-to-moment experiences to the lyrics.

Expressing the heart through lyrics can be seen as proof of Hoyun Son's existence. Apart from lyrics, Hoyun Son could not show her existence. Lyrics were a tool for Hoyun Son to survive.

(3) What did she talk about in tanka?

She chose tanka as the most appropriate vessel to contain the language of the heart, and through tanka, she overcame countless difficulties. If so, what did Hoyun Son express through her tanka and how?

For example, one of her famous tanka poems:

I have a sincere wish for the neighboring countries to be without disputes

This tanka, recognized as one of the most excellent pieces by Hoyun Son, is a song that wishes for peace between Korea and Japan. It has been recited by leaders of both countries during diplomatic meetings. While conceptual songs are generally considered inappropriate and shunned by experts, when Hoyun Son sings, strangely, a gentle sense of peace is conveyed.

On the other hand, bringing up phrases like "the coercion of nuclear power" reveals political implications. However, if one were to say, "I am appealing with the sincerity of my heart," anyone would understand and accept it without resistance.

Let's look at one of her representative works, engraved on the monument in Aomori:

Did you close your eyes momentarily to measure the depth of my love?

While expressing mourning for the departed, Hoyun Son exhibits remarkable insight. There's even a hint of humor, making one who cannot accept death wish it were false.

Despairing in creating such falsehood, one breaks down, shedding tears. It is in falsehood that one can accept and embrace death. That's how you come to accept the death of a loved one. Humans seek to accept and allow death only within falsehood.

This 'mind that forgives and accepts the other, which is Hoyun Son's essence. I come to realize that it is the foundation of Hoyun Son's verse.

Even in the relationship between nations, to avoid wars that arise from disputes, one must forgive each other for the small things. Such ethics (morals) of forgiveness are laid at the foundation of Hoyun Son’s verse.

I once gave a lecture in Seoul titled "Fusion - Hypothesis Surrounding Korean Culture." Here, the concept of '宥和' (conciliation) is similar to the overall characteristic of Korean culture, '融和' (harmony), but Hoyun Son's essence cannot be fully expressed with the English term 'Fusion.' Although there is no suitable English term, if I had to say, it might be close to 'Confidence.' This English term refers to an acceptance based on reason or trust, resonating with the goodwill and trust in everything within Hoyun Son's heart.

At the core of the two tankas above lies the belief that if there is goodwill in both sides, there can be no dispute, and that her husband has not died, and that he has not left her.

She is a modest and quiet person. She is not a strong person. But she is the possessor of strong beliefs, and it is from those strong beliefs that honest verse arises.

Because tanka is originally the language of love for each other.

Bowing before the doctor I answer I still see my husband in my dreams

I love your rocking chair with intense feelings that shakes as strongly as your strength

This honesty and exuberance of thought all emanate from Hoyun Son's world of love.

Yet, there is no verse that does not match in word count and rhythm.

The high tone of Hoyun Son’s tanka is truly magnificent.

Living amidst various human relationships, Hoyun Son's tanka, harboring originality of conception, will continue to emit its fresh light into the future.