Doodles of Nijogawara

Japanese: 二条河原落書 - にじょうがわらのらくしょ

A play on the subject: Last August, a graffiti painting was found at Nijogawara. In the first year of the first century, something that is now common in the capital. A plot to commit a night raid and robbery was planned.
A false commotion caused by a servant's horse / A dead head is returned to secular life, a sudden lord becomes a monk, and a fool / Relief and rewards are given to a false army
The main litigator / Documents included in the thin paper
A follower of slanderous Zen and Buddhist monks; a man who has succeeded in overthrowing the ruling class; no one can decide whether he is skilled or not; a man who has no right to make a decision; a man who has no right to hold a scepter; a man who has no right to speak of a wise man; a man who has skillfully deceived others; a man who has no right to speak of a scepter .... / When the excited Kyoto samurai grew up, / there were countless instances of them being carried away and showing their attractiveness / the wives of those who were called the lords of the Imperial Palace, / the eyes of others were pleasant to look at, / and the tail feathers of the little hawk were lifted / no matter who was caught in their hands, there was no bird like that / they were wielding a sword made of lead, / and their fingers were slanted in front, / and they had five ribs of a thin, thin horsehair kimono /
Antique armor of the quality of daily money / Kanto samurai's servants, no kimono wood / Oguchi Nikilu beautiful and fine
The armor is still worn, and the bow is drawn, and the number of arrows that fall from horses is more than enough. No matter who is the master, the small hat is worn everywhere. It is a new style.
Kamakura and Kyoto are admired / Solo Hanuese Renga (Renga)
There are renga poems and chant poems in various places. There is no discrimination between those who are not chanters and those who are not. It is a world of freedom and violence. Inu-dengaku (dengaku) is a dance of the Kanto region. It is not called a "fair thing", so dengaku is performed without permission. There is also a gathering of ten sticks of tea and incense, and it is said that there is a deer in Kamakura fishing. In the town where the height of the capital has doubled, there are kagariya (fire huts) standing. The government office building with its desolate five-ken, three-panel curtains is closed. There are many houses that are half-built, and there are vacant lots that were burned down last year. The houses that are not doing well are now being marked and left behind by non-commissioned soldiers. The roads are smooth and polite, with no corners or roadside lanterns, and the peach groves are full of cattle and horses. In Kamakura, the four barbarians are forced to live in harmony with the laws of the Udaisho family. However, nowadays, there are no cattle or horses to raise in the morning. In the evening, the meritorious retainers who are praised are not only different from the left and right, but also different. Even if they have not done a great job of loyalty, they will be promoted more than they deserve. It is inevitable that they will lose out, but they will be trusted. The whole world will be unified. Born in the reign of the Emperor, we will hear the words of the children of Kyoto who do not think about things. It is not just one tenth of a ...

[Kenmu-ki, Cabinet Library] (based on Medieval Political and Social Thought, Vol. 2)

[Reference] | Nijogawara Doodles

Doodles of Nijogawara

It was posted in August 1334 (the first year of the Kenmu era) at Nijogawara in Kyoto (some say August of the following year) and is included in the Kenmuki. Rakugashi, also called rakushi-bumi, was an anonymous letter denouncing the perpetrator, but it eventually came to mean writings that satirized, mocked or criticized authority or society. The 88-line doodle begins with, "These days what is popular in the capital is the plotting of night attacks and robbery," and ends with, "Those born in this era who listen to such wicked things as the children of Kyoto are just one tenth as quiet as they are," and while it is based on the modern songs that were popular in the late Heian period, it continues the song format based on 7-5 rhythm. It is a sharp satire of the chaotic reality of the New Kenmu government and the turbulent social climate under its rule, characterizing it as a "world of freedom and violence."

If the origin of graffiti lies in children's songs, in which gods used people to recite the fortunes of the times, then the skill of the artist who used the mouths of "Kyoto children" to predict the collapse of the Kenmu government with "Tenka Ichito Metsurashia" can be said to be extremely outstanding. The artist is presumed to have been a member of a group of intellectuals critical of the new government.

[Kazuhiko Sato]

[Supplementary material] | Nijogawara doodles

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

　　口遊(くちずさみ)　去年八月二条河原落書云々　元年歟
此比(このごろ)都ニハヤル物／夜討(ようち)強盗謀綸旨(にせりんじ)
召人早馬虚騒動(そらそうどう)／生頸還俗(げんぞく)自由出家
俄(にわか)大名迷者／安堵(あんど)恩賞虚軍(そらいくさ)
本領ハナルヽ訴訟人／文書入タル細葛(ほそつづら)
追従讒人(ざんにん)禅律僧／下克上(げこくじょう)スル成出者
器用堪否(かんぷ)沙汰モナク／モルヽ人ナキ決断所
キツケヌ冠上ノキヌ／持モナラハヌ笏(しゃく)持テ
内裏マシハリ珍シヤ／賢者カホナル伝奏ハ
我モ我モトミユレトモ／巧ナリケル詐(いつわり)ハ
ヲロカナルニヤヲトルラム／為中美物(いなかびぶつ)ニアキミチテ
マナ板烏帽子(えぼし)ユカメツヽ／気色メキタル京侍
タソカレ時ニ成ヌレハ／ウカレテアリク色好
イクソハクソヤ数不知／内裏ヲカミト名付タル
人ノ妻鞆(めども)ノウカレメハ／ヨソノミル目モ心地アシ
尾羽ヲレユカムエセ小鷹(おたか)／手コトニ誰モスエタレト
鳥トル事ハ更ニナシ／鉛作ノオホ刀
太刀ヨリオホキニコシラヘテ／前サカリニソ指ホラス
ハサラ扇ノ五骨／ヒロコシヤセ馬薄小袖(こそで)
日銭(ひぜに)ノ質ノ古具足／関東武士ノカコ出仕
下衆(げす)上﨟(じょうろう)ノキハモナク／大口ニキル美精好(せいごう)
鎧直垂(よろいひたたれ)猶不捨／弓モ引ヱヌ犬追物
落馬矢数ニマサリタリ／誰ヲ師匠トナケレトモ
遍(あまねく)ハヤル小笠懸(こかさがけ)／事新キ風情也(なり)
京鎌倉ヲコキマセテ／一座ソロハヌエセ連歌(れんが)
在々所々ノ歌連歌／点者ニナラヌ人ソナキ
譜第非成(ふだいひせい)ノ差別ナク／自由狼藉(ろうぜき)ノ世界也
犬田楽(でんがく)ハ関東ノ／ホロフル物ト云(いい)ナカラ
田楽ハナヲハヤル也／茶香十炷(ちゃこうじっしゅ)ノ寄合モ
鎌倉釣ニ有鹿(ありしか)ト／都ハイトヽ倍増ス
町コトニ立篝屋(かがりや)ハ／荒涼五間板三枚
幕引マワス役所鞆(とも)／其数シラス満々リ
諸人ノ敷地不定／半作ノ家是(これ)多シ
去年火災ノ空地共／クソ福ニコソナリニケレ
適ノコル家々ハ／点定(てんじょう)セラレテ置去ヌ
非職ノ兵仗(へいじょう)ハヤリツヽ／路次ノ礼儀辻々ハナシ
花山桃林サヒシクテ／牛馬華洛(からく)ニ遍満ス
四夷(しい)ヲシツメシ鎌倉ノ／右大将家ノ掟(おきて)ヨリ
只(ただ)品有シ武士モミナ／ナメンタラニソ今ハナル
朝(あした)ニ牛馬ヲ飼ナカラ／夕(ゆうべ)ニ賞アル功臣ハ
左右ニオヨハヌ事ソカシ／サセル忠功ナケレトモ
過分ノ昇進スルモアリ／定テ損ソアルラント
仰テ信ヲトルハカリ／天下一統メツラシヤ
御代(みよ)ニ生(うまれ)テサマサマノ／事ヲミキクソ不思義共
京童(みやこわらわ)ノ口スサミ／十分一ソモラスナリ

［内閣文庫　建武記］（『中世政治社会思想　下』による）

[参照項目] | 二条河原落書

二条河原落書
にじょうがわらのらくしょ

1334年（建武1）8月（翌年8月との説もある）、京都の二条河原に掲げられたもので、『建武記(けんむき)』に収録されている。落書は落し文(ぶみ)ともいわれ、犯人を告発する匿名の投書であったが、やがて、権力や社会に対する風刺や嘲(あざけ)り、批判の書を意味するようになった。「此比(このごろ)都ニハヤル物　夜討(ようち)強盗謀綸旨(にせりんじ)」と書き出し、「御代(みよ)ニ生(うまれ)テサマサマノ　事ヲミキクソ不思義共　京童(みやこわらわ)ノ口スサミ　十分一ソモラスナリ」と結ぶ88行の落書は、平安末期に流行した今様(いまよう)の物尽くし歌によりつつ、七五調を基本とした歌謡形式を継承したもので、混乱を極める建武新政府の内実と、政権下の揺れ動く世相とを「自由狼藉(ろうぜき)ノ世界」として把握し、鋭く風刺したものである。

　落書の起源が、時の吉凶を神が人の口を借りてうたわせる童謡(わざうた)にあるとすれば、「京童」の口を借りて「天下一統メツラシヤ」と建武政府の崩壊を予告した作者の手腕は、きわめて優れたものといえよう。作者は新政権に批判的な知識人集団であったと推定される。

［佐藤和彦］

[補完資料] | 二条河原落書

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