Takamori Saigo · Satsuma
Original
驅犬衝雲獨自攀
Takamori Saigo's Chinese-style poem, "驅犬衝雲獨自攀豪然長嘯斷峰閒請看世上". Read the original Japanese, translation, meaning, and historical background. The poem sees the danger of human hearts as greater than the danger of mountains.
Person
A Satsuma samurai whose scale, solitude, and contradictions shaped the Restoration. He carried both greatness and loneliness: a victor of the new age who also bore the beauty and weight of defeat.
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Translation
Hard as it is to climb through clouded peaks, crossing the steepness of human hearts is harder still.
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 sees the danger of human hearts as greater than the danger of mountains. Through a mountain path, it lets Saigo's political life and solitude feel stark and bodily.
Background
A poem of mountain travel. The mountain and dog imagery also harmonizes with Saigo's popular image, making it clear even across distance. A Satsuma samurai whose scale, solitude, and contradictions shaped the Restoration.
Source / Transmission Wording and readings may differ by transmission; this page treats the text as one circulated form.
Further Reading
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