Two Jisei

My jisei is are waka written as though by an Azuchi—Momoyama period samurai who has been ordered to perform seppuku in order to redeem his honor for disgrace in battle. Seppuku is the act of ritual suicide that was considered a way to redeem tarnished honor. Other reasons for formal seppuku are junshi (to follow your lord in death), funshi (as an act of protest), and kanshi (to rebuke one's lord for dishonorable behavior). Only samurai were allowed to perform seppuku, so this would have been performed by a male of that class. Jisei were also written by noble women, scholars, and monks, but these would have been performed in a different manner. This sort of piece would have been performed as part of the preparations for impending death, which are important to Japanese culture. The typical audience would have been members of the nobility, standing in attendance at a courteous distance, who would have maintained a respectful attitude towards the performer in his final moments of life.

 The Composition of the Jisei

In period jisei were written as kanshi, waka, and haiku. Kanshi were poems written by Japanese poets in Classical Chinese and imitated the Chinese form and rhyming pattern of the eight line lushi and four line jueju. Waka and haiku were written in Japanese and were composed by counted units called on. In English, we approximate this by counted syllables, (which is the method I have chosen in the composition of my jisei) but on are actually are equivalent to phonological units known as morae and written with a single character. A mora is a measure of the amount of time it takes to make a sound. A light syllable will have one mora and a heavy syllable will have two. Trimoraic syllables exist but are very rare. It is a common fallacy that on are functionally equivalent to syllables in English, but this is incorrect. A mora is more closely equivalent to a half syllable, though this is variable depending on the syllable. (Gilbert and Yoneoka 13) For simplicity's sake, I have adhered to the common 5-7-5-7-7 counted syllable approximation that has become the standard convention for composition of waka in English.

The modern reader will of course be familiar with haiku, with its 5-7-5 on structure. Modern waka is essentially the same as tanka, which follows a 5-7-5-7-7 pattern. In period, before the tenth century, waka was a more general term for poems written in Japanese that included several genres, but by the tenth century these other forms had fallen into disuse and thus waka referred solely to the form we now know as tanka. (Hoffman 15)

Waka are not rhymed, as most Japanese words have one of five vowel endings and thus following a rhyme scheme would ultimately lead to a rather boring poem, but instead follows the five line, 5-7-5-7-7 on pattern to provide a lyrical rhythm. (Carter 1-3) Waka generally present two poetic images, the first drawn from nature and the second a meditative response to the nature image. This second type image may precede, follow, or be woven into the nature image. Haiku, by contrast, present solely the natural poetic image and allow the reader to infer the meditative response themselves. (Hoffman 21)
If the jisei mentions the coming death directly, this is considered less skilled and a more clumsy way of treating the subject. It is instead supposed to gracefully and indirectly allude to the feelings and concerns brought to mind by impending mortality. Mountain imagery is common, as mountains were thought to be the dwelling places of the gods, the place the spirits journeyed to after death. Bird imagery is also prevalent, perhaps because in early Japanese beliefs, birds ferried the spirit into the after-world. Flower imagery is perhaps the most central and fundamental natural image used in death poetry. Flowers are beautiful, yet the short duration of most blossoms suggests the transience of worldly concerns and the shortness of life, a pastiche of longing and sorrow. (Hoffman 47)

The subjects touched upon by a jisei are incredibly varied. They are frequently philosophical, meditating upon the nature of life and morality or making observations about human nature or the qualities of human existence.. They have in the past made subtle political statements, expressed admiration and respect for an opponent, and have served as a forum to advocate virtues of generosity, kindness, fial piety, loyalty, and love for family and friends. (Hoffman 27-50)

References

Carter, Steven D. Traditional Japanese Poetry: An Anthology. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1991. Print

Gilbert, Richard; Yoneoka, Judy. "From 5-7-5 to 8-8-8: An Investigation of Japanese Haiku Metrics and Implications for English Haiku" (PDF). World Haiku Association. Web. 19 May 2015. <http://www.worldhaiku.net/archive/metrics.pdf>

Hoffman, Yoel. Japanese Death Poems Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death. North Clarendon, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Publishing Co., Inc., 1986. Print

Rankin, Andrew. Seppuku: A History of Samurai Suicide. Tokyo: Kodansha International, Ltd., 2011. Print.

Tanaka, Fumon. Samurai Fighting Arts: The Spirit and Practice. Tokyo: Kodansha International, Ltd., 2003. Print.