Chunagon Yukihira

This month we have a member of one of those 'family' groups in the Hyaku-nin Isshu, and if I tell you that this poet's name was Ariwara no Yukihira, I'm sure you can guess that he was the brother of the famous Ariwara no Narihira, whose print I made a number of years ago. In my English-language reference books, I can't tell who was the elder, as they just use the word 'brother', but of course in Japanese, the words 'ani' and 'ototo' clearly distinguish between the two.

As I was reading about these two men, I had to laugh at what I learned about them - this one, the older, was studious, but the younger one was a 'Don Juan' type. It's just as though I was reading about my family! One brother interested in books, one in the ladies ... Yes, I have a brother a couple of years younger, and these descriptions fit us too. Back in those days when we lived at home in Canada together, I don't think that he ever had any shortage of girlfriends. As for my side, well I certainly never had a shortage of books around!

I don't know much about Heian-era family life, so can't guess how close the Ariwara brothers might have been, or even whether they would have had any contact with each other as adults. In my case, although we were close as children, playing and fighting together endlessly, my brother and I haven't had much contact since we left the family home. Of course, the general fragmentation of our family may have something to do with that! My parents returned to England, my sister stayed in Canada, my brother moved to Germany, and here I am in Japan.

I wonder sometimes whether or not my parents regret bringing their children up to be so independent. Although it must be a source of pleasure to them to see that their offspring can make their way through life without a heavy dependence on family ties, they have paid a price for this; they almost never see their kids! Look at the entries in the family address book: Europe ... North America ... Asia ...

It's funny that this topic came up just this month, because directly after I finish sending this print out to you, I will be flying over to Canada to spend a couple of weeks there. The Bulls are having a rare family reunion, and for the first time in more than ten years, the entire family will be gathered together in one place. None of us have been very good letter writers during the intervening years, so I'm sure that there will be plenty of news to be exchanged, and as I haven't seen even so much as a photograph of my sister since I left Canada, I'm not sure I'll be able to recognize her!

Although it is certainly going to be enjoyable to be able to spend this time with my parents and siblings (I like them, they are interesting people!), I'm thankful that we don't have the sort of 'wet' and sticky relationship that many Japanese families seem to have. I'm sure we will have a good time together, and will then each fly away home, to continue our activities.

I suppose it must have been inconceivable for Ariwara's Heian-era family to imagine a situation like ours, but for me, it seems just as inconceivable to imagine spending one's entire life living in such close proximity to all one's relatives. What do you think? How close is too close? How far is too far ...?

August 1996