#86 ~ Famous Japanese poem about tea ~

#862025/05/28（水）~ Famous Japanese poem about tea ~昨日お茶の話をしたので、お茶に関する江戸時代の有名な歌をご紹介します。「泰平の眠りを覚ます 上喜撰 たった四はいで 夜も寝られず」上喜撰という高級なお茶を飲んだら、夜寝られなくなったという歌ですが、実は、この歌の本当の意味は全く違うもので、アメリカから来た船が怖いという歌です。詳しくは文章で説明します！きのう おちゃの はなしを したので、おちゃに かんする えどじだいの ゆうめいな うたを ごしょうかいします。「たいへいの ねむりを さます じょうきせん たった しはいで よるも ねられず」じょうきせんという こうきゅうな おちゃを のんだら、よる ねられなくなった という うたですが、じつは、このうたの ほんとうの いみは まったく ちがうもので、あめりかから きた ふねが こわい という うたです。くわしくは ぶんしょうで せつめいします！Since we talked about tea yesterday, let me introduce a famous poem about tea from the Edo period.“Jouki sen woke me up from a peaceful sleep. Only four cups of tea makes me awake at night.The poem is about a person who could not sleep at night after drinking a cup of high quality tea called Jouki-Sen.But in fact, the real meaning of this poem is completely different. It is a poem about being afraid of a ship coming from America.I will explain in detail in the text!【Today’s words】In Edo era, the Japanese government closed the country for about 200 years because they were afraid of the influence from other countries.In 1854, American government came to Japan by 4 steam ships (jouki sen) and told Japan to open the country.Government got scared and panicked because they had almost never seen foreign people before.People saw the government being panicked and they made the poem as a satire. But they would be punished if it was too obvious, so they pretended it was about tea. So, the real meaning of the poem is, 泰平の眠りを覚ます上喜撰（蒸気船）（たいへいの ねむりを さます じょうきせん）/ Big steam ships woke up Japan from the peaceful sleep(= national isolation ).たった四杯で夜も眠れず（たった しはいで よるも ねむれず）/ They came to Japan by only four steam ships, but that made the government panicked and they can’t sleep at night.