Boto-ni Nomura · 福岡藩

Original

まごころを
つくしのきぬは
国のため
立ちかへるべき
衣手にせよ

Boto-ni Nomura's waka, "まごころをつくしのきぬは". Read the original Japanese, modern translation, interpretation, and historical context as distinct parts of the poem.

Person

Fukuoka poet who sheltered activists at Hirao Sanso, survived island exile, and continued her work in Choshu.

Learn about Nomura Boto-ni

Translation

Wear this cloth from Tsukushi, made with all my heart, as the sleeves in which you rise again for the country.

Poetic Shape

Tanka compresses feeling into five short movements, traditionally heard as a 5-7-5-7-7 rhythm. Its force is in the turn from image to emotion, and in what the poem leaves unsaid.

Reading

Tsukushi, the old name for northern Kyushu, also echoes 'to devote completely.' A gift of clothing becomes an appeal to stand again, grounding political support in shelter, food, cloth, and letters rather than in slogans alone.

Background

Fukuoka City's cultural-property material presents this as a poem said to have accompanied cloth sent by Nomura to Takasugi Shinsaku.In 1864 she sheltered the fugitive activist at Hirao Sanso.Because the account is transmitted rather than documented in every detail, the page distinguishes the tradition from certainty while examining how cloth, wordplay, and refuge formed one act of support.

Source / Transmission

Text follows Fukuoka City's cultural-property handout, retaining its cautious wording that the poem is said to have been sent to Takasugi Shinsaku.

Further Reading

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Fukuoka, Fukuoka · Fukuoka Domain

Fukuoka / Hirao Sanso

Fukuoka / Hirao Sanso ink-wash place image

Reconstructed retreat where Nomura wrote poetry and sheltered activists.

Boto-ni Nomura

Address5-2-28 Hirao, Chuo, Fukuoka

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Itoshima, Fukuoka · Exile Site

Itoshima / Himeshima Exile Site

Itoshima / Himeshima Exile Site ink-wash place image

Island exile site with a reconstructed confinement hall and memorial.

Boto-ni Nomura

AddressHimeshima, Shima, Itoshima, Fukuoka

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