All the dreams of Naniwa
つゆと落ち
つゆと消えにし
我が身かな
難波のことは
夢のまた夢
豊富秀吉
As the dew falls
As the dew disappears
Such is my life, I suppose.
All the the things of Naniwa
Were but a dream within a dream.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a warrior-poet in the period immediately preceding the Tokugawa shogunate. He came from a humble background, and, through his own talent and strength of character, rose in the ranks of the army of Oda Nobunaga until he was his most trusted lieutenant. Upon the death of Nobunaga, Hideyoshi completed the task of unifying Japan and established his uncontested rule. Having no ancestral lands, he founded the city of Osaka, which was then called Naniwa, and built Osaka Castle as the crowning jewel of his capital -- the most ambitious program of construction and public works undertaken up to that time. With alliances and sworn vows of fealty, he attempted to secure the inheritance of his empire for his children. He was unable, however, to overcome the prejudices that accompanied his lack of noble birth, and upon his death, his children were betrayed and killed, and Tokugawa Ieyasu seized the empire that Hideyoshi had built for his heirs. This poem by Hideyoshi is not only a beautifully commentary on the transitory nature of our lives and our dreams in general, but appears in retrospect also to have been tragically prophetic of the fate in store for his own life's work, for his dreams, and for his children.
つゆと消えにし
我が身かな
難波のことは
夢のまた夢
豊富秀吉
As the dew falls
As the dew disappears
Such is my life, I suppose.
All the the things of Naniwa
Were but a dream within a dream.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a warrior-poet in the period immediately preceding the Tokugawa shogunate. He came from a humble background, and, through his own talent and strength of character, rose in the ranks of the army of Oda Nobunaga until he was his most trusted lieutenant. Upon the death of Nobunaga, Hideyoshi completed the task of unifying Japan and established his uncontested rule. Having no ancestral lands, he founded the city of Osaka, which was then called Naniwa, and built Osaka Castle as the crowning jewel of his capital -- the most ambitious program of construction and public works undertaken up to that time. With alliances and sworn vows of fealty, he attempted to secure the inheritance of his empire for his children. He was unable, however, to overcome the prejudices that accompanied his lack of noble birth, and upon his death, his children were betrayed and killed, and Tokugawa Ieyasu seized the empire that Hideyoshi had built for his heirs. This poem by Hideyoshi is not only a beautifully commentary on the transitory nature of our lives and our dreams in general, but appears in retrospect also to have been tragically prophetic of the fate in store for his own life's work, for his dreams, and for his children.