Toshimaro Yoshida · Choshu
Original
結べども
Toshimaro Yoshida's death poem, "結べども又結べども黒髪の乱れそめにし". Read the original Japanese, translation, meaning, and historical background. The image of a disordered age reflected in tangled black hair is striking.
Person
A gifted student of Yoshida Shoin who died young in the Ikedaya Incident. His brief life stands for the brilliance of Shoin's school and the fragility of youth consumed by the violence of the age.
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Translation
Like black hair that comes undone no matter how often it is tied, what can be done with a world already falling into disorder?
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
The image of a disordered age reflected in tangled black hair is striking. It resonates with the fragility of Yoshida Toshimaro, a gifted young student caught in the turmoil of his time.
Background
Passed down as the death poem of this talented student of Shoin, who died in the Ikedaya Incident. His youth and the disorder of the age overlap. A gifted student of Yoshida Shoin who died young in the Ikedaya Incident.
Source / Transmission Wording and readings may differ by transmission; this page treats the text as one circulated form.
Further Reading
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