いろは歌の解説トライ trying explain Iroha-uta

Iroha-uta in hiragana:

1　いろは　にほへと　ちりぬるを

2　わかよ　たれそ　つねならむ

3　うゐの　おくやま　けふこえて

4　あさき　ゆめみし　ゑひもせす

or by using kanji :

1　色は　匂へど　散りぬるを

2　我が世　誰ぞ　常ならむ

3　有為の　奥山　今日越えて

4　浅き　夢見じ　酔いもせず

The meaning is

1 the prosperity, which seems so beautiful, will disappears oneday.

(every beautiful flower falls someday)

2 who can make this world ever lasting?

(humans can not live forever,that’s nature’s law)

3 Life on earth is full of ups and downs and problems as big as uncrossable mountain get in the way.

4 Don’t get drunk by the finally always disappearing dream of life

(by achieving enlightment, you can get a peaceful soul and you don’t have to have an empty dream anylonger)

This has been translatedoriginally from a ancient chienese poem, that had a slightly different meaning, but the same general idea:

1　諸行無常

2　是生滅法

3　生滅滅已

4　寂滅為楽

There are several interpretations of this poem. One of them sees the “iroha-uta” as a cryptograph. When aristocracy prosperd in Japan, there were a lot of heavy political conflicts. How can you get a connection with the powerful, how can you win against rivals. There were plots everywhere. There was a teacher of a prince, who was fell into such a plot and was exiled to an island as a heavy criminal. The teacher supposed wrote this poem “iroha-uta” with the hidden cryptograph, which that he was innocenct. He could even be the famous “waka”- poet Hitomaro Kakinomoto from that time, who wrote a lot of wonderful waka-poems.

Let’s decipher this message!

Take every 7^th letter and read them together:

いろはにほへと

ちりぬるをわか

よたれそつねな

らむうゐのおく

やまけふこえて

あさきゆめみし

ゑひもせす

とかなくてしす

to ka na ku te shi su

or in kanji:

咎なくて死す

It ssays “ no guilt, die”: I must die although I ‘m innocenct”

This message could be written by Hitomaro Kakinomoto.

“ I must die on this lonely island. I may not see you (his family and friends) anymore.

But I have to say at least before I die, that I was always innocent. Please understand my lament. I’m writing this poem for you and for later generations. Hopefuly, someone will be able to decipher what I really tried to say with this poem one day.

Omake:

Iroha-uta in rouma-ji

I ro ha hi ho he to chi ri nu ru wo

wa ka yo ta re so tsu ne na ra mu

u yi no o ku ya ma ke fu ko e te

a sa ki yu me mi shi ye hi mo se su