Verses 3–5

三ツ      みなせかいのこゝろにハ　でんぢのいらぬものハない

三つ　皆世界の心には　田地の要らぬ者は無い

Mittsu / Mina sekai no / kokoro ni wa / denji no iranu mono wa nai

Three / All the world’s / heart-minds / rice fields / do not want / there is no one

Denji

“Denji” is a hand motion limited only to Song Seven. It literally means a rice field or rice paddy. It refers to land where farmers grow rice.¹ One commentator writes something similar and adds, “interpreted broadly it is a store to merchants, a workshop to the craftsman”². A denji is a metaphor for not only source of livelihood but also source of sustenance. It may be worth noting that rice was the main form of currency until the modern period, and a samurai’s rank and assessment of the wealth of a feudal fief was measured in koku or a unit of measure equaling the amount of rice a person ate in a year.³

四ツ      よきぢがあらバ一れつに　たれもほしいであらうがな

四つ　良き地があらば一列に　誰も欲しいであろうがな

Yottsu / Yoki-ji ga / araba / ichiretsu ni / tare mo / hoshii de arōgana

Four / Good field / if there is / one and all / everyone / would probably want

 

五ツ      いづれのかたもおなしこと　わしもあのぢをもとめたい

五つ　何れの方も同じ事　私もあの地を求めたい

Itsutsu / Izure no kata mo / onaji koto / washi mo ano ji o motome tai

Five / No matter who / it is the same / I too want to seek that field

The general meaning of verses 3 to 5 is

• There is no one who does not want a rice field, a source of livelihood and sustenance
• If there is such thing as a good rice field, everyone would want it
• Verse 5 is the human response to Oyagami’s words in verses 3 and 4 to say “Everyone is the same, I too want that field.”

There is one commentator who associates the “good field” with Oyasama’s Divine Model.⁴

Verses 6–8

六ツ      むりにどうせといはんでな　そこはめい／＼のむねしだい

六つ　無理にどうせと言わんでな　そこは銘々の胸次第

Muttsu / Muri ni / dōse wa iwan de na / soko wa / meimei no / mune shidai

Six / Against [your] will / do not tell [you] what to do / that is / yourselves / up to

七ツ      なんでもでんぢがほしいから　あたへハなにほどいるとても

七つ　何でも田地が欲しいから　与えは何程要るとても

Nanatsu / Nandemo / denji ga hoshii / kara / atae wa nanihodo iru totemo

Seven / By all means / want that rice field / because / price no matter / it may require

八ツ      やしきハかみのでんぢやで　まいたるたねハみなはへる

八つ　屋敷は神の田地やで　蒔いたる種は皆生える

Yattsu / Yashiki wa Kami no denji ya de / maitaru tane wa / mina haeru

Eight / Residence is / Kami’s rice field / sown seeds will / all sprout

The dialogue between Kami and human beings then unfolds as follows:

• With the press (osae) hand motion, Kami says Kami will not tell us to do anything against our will, it is all up to each of us
• The human response is, “I wish to have that rice field, no matter what the price may be”
• Kami reveals the “Yashiki” as “Kami’s rice field.” According to one commentator, “Yashiki” (Residence) means the building that Oyagami resides or a church.⁵. Generally however, this “Yashiki” is taken to mean the Residence or Jiba of Origin, a place where seeds sown do not decay but all sprout without fail.

References/notes