61. The Lady Ise: Ise no Taiu
61
THE LADY ISE
ISE NO TAIU
Nara no Miyako no
Yaezakura
Kyō kokonoe ni
Nioi nuru kana.
THE double cherry trees, which grew
At Nara in past days,
Now beautify this Palace, and
Their blossoms all ablaze
Perfume the royal ways.
The Lady Ise was another of the famous literary women, that distinguished the Imperial Court at the end of the tenth century; she was associated with the Province of Ise, from which she gets her name. Nara was the capital city from A.D. 709 to 784, after which the Court moved to Kyōto. It is related, that during the reign of the Emperor Ichijō (A.D. 987-1011) a nobleman presented him with a spray of the eight-petalled cherry trees that grew at Nara; the Emperor was so delighted, that he had the trees, or perhaps cuttings from them, brought to Kyōto, and this verse commemorates the event.
Kokonoe (Palace) really means 'ninefold', and refers to the nine enclosures of the Imperial Residence; it is here contrasted with yaezakura, the eightfold or double cherry blossom.