1,400-Year-Old Love Poem: Mount Miwa's Sacred Mists, Nara
About the Poet
Princess Nukada (額田王, c. 630-690 CE) stands as the most celebrated female poet of Japan's Asuka period, her verses capturing the refined sensibility of an era when the imperial court was taking shape in the Nara region. Born into nobility, she served both Emperor Tenji and Emperor Tenmu, her romantic connections to these powerful rulers lending her poetry an emotional depth that transcends centuries. Her works in the Man'yōshū demonstrate remarkable range—from passionate love poems to sophisticated nature observations. Princess Nukada witnessed the transformation of Japan's ancient capital region firsthand, composing verses during imperial progresses through the sacred landscapes of Yamato. Her poetry about Mount Miwa holds special significance, as this mountain was considered the dwelling place of a powerful deity and the spiritual heart of early Japan. For travelers visiting Nara today, Princess Nukada represents the voice of ancient Japan's aristocratic culture, her words offering intimate glimpses into the emotional landscape of seventh-century court life. Her legacy endures in the Man'yōshū, Japan's oldest poetry anthology, where her verses remain touchstones of classical Japanese literature.
Miwa, Nara
Miwa, nestled in the eastern foothills of the Nara Basin, offers travelers an encounter with Japan's most ancient sacred geography. Mount Miwa (467m) rises as a perfect cone, worshipped since prehistoric times as a deity itself—no shrine building originally stood here, for the mountain was the god. Today, Ōmiwa Shrine at its base preserves this primal Shinto tradition, marked by its distinctive torii gate with no main hall behind it. Spring brings ethereal mists that cloak the mountain exactly as Princess Nukada described 1,400 years ago, while autumn colors paint the slopes in brilliant reds. The nearby Yamanobe no Michi, Japan's oldest road, winds past ancient burial mounds and rural shrines. Visit early morning when mist still lingers, or during the sacred sake festival in November. The area remains refreshingly uncrowded, offering contemplative walks through persimmon orchards and rice paddies that have changed little since the Asuka period.
Understanding the Poem
Princess Nukada's poem operates on two intertwined levels of meaning, creating emotional resonance that has captivated readers for over thirteen centuries. On the surface, she addresses the spring haze that obscures Mount Miwa, questioning why nature would hide this sacred peak. Yet the deeper meaning emerges in the final lines: she herself wishes to disappear from public view, to enter somewhere unknown to others. The verb 'iri' (to enter) carries romantic connotations—entering a relationship, entering someone's chambers. Given her complex position between two imperial brothers, this longing for invisibility speaks to the impossible tensions of court life. Mount Miwa serves as both metaphor and witness; as a sacred mountain believed to house a deity who once took a human lover, it understood secret passions. The spring mist becomes an accomplice she envies, capable of concealing what she cannot. This layering of natural observation with personal confession exemplifies the finest Man'yōshū technique, where landscape and emotion become inseparable.
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