Shungaku Matsudaira · Fukui
Original
二日書事
Shungaku Matsudaira's Chinese-style poem, "二日書事習習東風吹柳長新鶯出谷報靑陽". Read the original Japanese, translation, meaning, and historical background. The poem receives a political event through the brightness of spring and the darkness of heartbreak.
Person
Lord of Fukui and one of the Four Wise Lords, involved in shogunate reform and the promotion of Hashimoto Sanai. Shungaku's presence is quieter than that of warriors, but his poems reveal the burden of judgment in a collapsing political world.
Know This Person
Translation
Spring wind moves the willows and a new warbler announces the season, yet I lower the blinds all day, grieving quietly for the emperor’s death.
Poetic Shape Kanshi draws on a classical Chinese poetic tradition, where restraint, allusion, and moral tension carry much of the weight. The poem sounds formal, but the pressure beneath it is personal.
Reading
The poem receives a political event through the brightness of spring and the darkness of heartbreak. It shows Shungaku's refined sorrow.
Background
A Chinese poem written after hearing of Emperor Komei's death. It depicts, in a quiet room, an event that deeply shook Bakumatsu politics. Lord of Fukui and one of the Four Wise Lords, involved in shogunate reform and the promotion of Hashimoto Sanai.
Source / Transmission Wording and readings may differ by transmission; this page treats the text as one circulated form.
Further Reading
Find related books and places to stay For readers who want more historical context, these links search for related books on external stores.
Affiliate link
