Izo Okada · Tosa
Original
君が為め
Izo Okada's death poem, "君が為め尽くす心は水の泡消えにし後は". Read the original Japanese, translation, meaning, and historical background. In contrast to the bloody image of Izo, the poem has the clarity of foam and open sky.
Person
A swordsman of the Tosa Loyalist Party, feared as one of the assassins of the Bakumatsu. Behind the image of the killer remains a man used by the politics of loyalty and abandoned to torture and execution.
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Translation
My devotion for my lord vanishes like foam on water; after it disappears, the sky clears wide.
Poetic Shape A Japanese death poem is less a final explanation than a last shape given to feeling. Its brevity matters: a life is not narrated, but compressed into a few lines that leave room for silence.
Reading
In contrast to the bloody image of Izo, the poem has the clarity of foam and open sky. It portrays guilt, loyalty, and disappearance quietly.
Background
Passed down as Okada Izo's death poem. Because the image of torture and execution is so strong, the clear metaphor leaves an especially deep aftertaste. A swordsman of the Tosa Loyalist Party, feared as one of the assassins of the Bakumatsu.
Source / Transmission Wording and readings may differ by transmission; this page treats the text as one circulated form.
Further Reading
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