Kounsai Takeda · Mito
Person
A leading figure of the Mito Tengu Party, executed after surrendering at Tsuruga in Echizen. In him the zeal of Mito loyalism becomes old, cold, and tragic, buried under the snow of a failed march.
Translation
I do not shrink from arrows and bullets falling like hail, yet the snow of Komagane stops my advance.
Reading
Rather than bravery, the poem shows the severity of nature stopping an army. The presence of snow beyond human resolve is beautiful. Read together with Kounsai Takeda, the poem is not only a matter of literal meaning; it shows a scene where resolve and defeat sink into cold nature. With the figure in mind, what remains after reading is resolve, solitude, and the beauty that often belongs to the defeated side.
Background
The poem connects with the hardships of the Tengu Party's northern march. Without showing the violence directly, defeat appears through snow. A leading figure of the Mito Tengu Party, executed after surrendering at Tsuruga in Echizen. The words carry the inner pressure of someone caught in Bakumatsu politics, war, execution, exile, or the losses that followed the Restoration. Even where the transmission is uncertain, they quietly preserve the pain of the age.
Source / Transmission Wording and readings may differ by transmission; this page treats the text as one circulated form.
