136「すさの男の玉の剣は世にいでて東の空に光り放てり。」- 植芝盛平
Original Waka
すさの男の
植芝盛平 (Ueshiba, 1977)
玉の剣は
世にいでて
東の空に
光り放てり
Translation
“Susanoo’s jewel-bright sword, into the world, emerged—amidst eastern empty sky—shining forth, radiant.” – Morihei Ueshiba
Waka Translation
Susanoo’s own
precious pure jewel‑bright’s sword,world amid, emerged—
eastern’s empty sky within,
shining forth and radiant.
Morihei Ueshiba
歴史的仮名遣い（語構成を明示）1
須佐之男の（すさのおの）
玉の剣は（たまのつるぎは）
世に出でて（よにいでて）
東の空に（ひがしのそらに）
光り放てり（ひかりはなてり）
植芝盛平
Bungo Romanization1
susanoo no
tama no tsurugi wa
yo ni idete
higashi no sora ni
hikari hanateri
Ueshiba Morihei
口語; 現代仮名遣い
136「スサノオの玉の剣は、世に出て——東の空に、光を放っている。」— 植芝盛平 (口語訳)
Kōgo Romanization
“Susanō no tama no ken wa, yoni dete——higashi no sora ni, hikari o hanatte iru.” — Ueshiba Morihei (Kōgo Translation)
Notes
1 Line 4 may be read あづまのそらに / azuma no sora ni.
Translation, Notes, Commentary, and Research by Latex G. N. R. Space-Coyote
Ueshiba, M. (2025). 植芝盛平道歌–136: Susanoo’s sword comes forth (L. G. N. R. Space-Coyote, Trans.; OpenAI ChatGPT-5 Pro, Ed.). Shugyokai.org. (Original work published 1977) https://shugyokai.org/zmqt
すさの男 / 須佐之男 / 素戔嗚尊（すさのお; susanoo）— Susanoo; the storm deity of Shinto myth who slew the eight‑forked serpent (Yamata no Orochi). In that tale he discovered a sacred sword in the serpent’s tail—later known as Ame‑no‑Murakumo‑no‑Tsurugi / Kusanagi‑no‑Tsurugi, one of the mythic regalia; Ueshiba often invokes mythic kami as paradigms for aikidō states or energies; Susano‑o here is less a narrative character and more a personification of fierce, purifying, stormlike ki (e.g., ara-mitama).
の（no）— genitive/attributive particle.
玉（たま; tama）— in classical diction can nuance “jewel” and numinous spirit (mitama); “pure”, “beautiful”; also used honorifically (玉体, 玉の緒, etc.) in waka. The double valence suits a sacred sword radiant with charisma.
劍（つるぎ; tsurugi）— straight double‑edged sword (as opposed to 刀).
玉の剣（たまのつるぎ; tama no tsurugi）— literally “jeweled sword”; tama (玉) in classical usage evokes both jewel/precious bead and, by association, numinous spirit (tama / mitama)—a conventional epithet for sacred weapons or regalia. Rendering it “jewel‑bright blade” keeps both luster and sacred charge.
は（wa）topic marker.
世（よ; yo）— generation, many spanning generations, era, period, time, epoch, dynasty, regime, year, age, world, earth, people (atemporal) (three leaves on a branch).
に（ni）— locative / adverbial particle.
出で（いで; ide）— bungo verb “to go out, appear,” ren’yōkei (連用形).
て（te）— conjunctive te.
世にいでて / 世に出でて（よにいでて; yo ni idete）— “to come forth into the world,” suggesting mythic manifestation rather than mere physical appearance—hence “comes forth … into this wide world”; marks manifestation—the sword emerging “into the world,” i.e., mythic potency becoming visible / active in the human realm (a standard waka move from latent to manifest). The classical 出づ and the connective て keep the diction old-style.
東（ひがし; higashi）— “east”, “eastern”; symbolically associated with sunrise, renewal, and spiritual awakening in Japanese religious discourse (not least in modern new religions); “eastern sky“ the connotes the dawn of a new age or revelation: a classic image both in poetry and in religious rhetoric.
空（そら; sora） — “sky, heavens; vault”.
東の空（ひがしのそら; higashi no sora ni） — a dawn trope: the east as sunrise/renewal (also resonant with Amaterasu’s light); classical poetry sometimes reads 東 as あづま, which can carry “the east lands” (frontier) associations as well.
光り（ひかり; hikari）— verbal noun / adverbial “shining”.
放て（はなて; hanate）— bungo imperative/inflected form of 放つ “to shoot out, radiate, let loose,” here functioning as ren’yōkei + auxiliary.
り（ri）— classical perfective / stative auxiliary (from り < あり), giving a sense of settled, completed or established state.
光り放てり（ひかりはなてり; hikari hanateri）— signals a resultative / stative aspect—“having cast forth light (and so it shines)”, “(stands) shining forth / flinging light”; this is textbook bungo morphology (完了・存続の「たり／り」系列).
東の空に光り放てり（ひがしのそらにひかりはなてり; higashi no sora ni hikari hanteri）— an older verbal form meaning “(it) flung / released light”—hence “glows … flinging out its light abroad.” The eastern sky signals dawn and renewal, resonating with Amaterasu (sun goddess) and the regalia’s cosmological symbolism.
Susanoo’s sword. Invokes the mythic episode where Susanoo slays the Yamata‑no‑Orochi and discovers the Ame‑no‑Murakumo / Kusanagi blade—later one of the Imperial Regalia. Thus “玉の剣” functions both as “jeweled / sacred” and as a regalia signifier.
Classical morphology. 出でて employs the bungo verb 出づ (shimo‑nidan), not modern 出て. 放てり reflects …て＋あり → …てり contraction (同系列の たり／り は完了・存続を標示). These are canonical classical auxiliaries and periphrases.
Poetic reading of 東. Allowing あづま for 東 in waka diction tracks pre‑modern readings attested around 東歌 in the Man’yō corpus and later tradition.
Economy & pivot. The English preserves the movement “manifestation → orientation → irradiation” (“comes forth” → “eastern sky” → “streaming forth”), echoing the original’s rhetorical arc while staying within the 5‑7‑5 / 7‑7 envelope.
Mythic referent. Susanoo’s slaying of the eight‑forked serpent and recovery of the sacred sword (Ame‑no‑Murakumo / Kusanagi) is the obvious mythic backdrop; the verse compresses this to the moment the tama‑charged blade “enters the world” and “casts light to the east”.
Tama / mitama semantics. 玉 in 玉の剣 can resonate with the mitama complex (ara‑ / nigi‑ / saki‑ / kushi‑mitama), making the sword not merely a jewel but a spirit‑charged regalian object—fitting Ueshiba’s religio‑symbolic register.
Site of devotion. The Aiki Shrine (Iwama) founded by Ueshiba enshrines Susanoo among other martial deities—context that makes this image (Susanoo’s sword) central and liturgically resonant in the Aikidō world.
Other sources. This dōka is similar to 「佐之男の玉つるぎは世に出でて東の空に光り放てり」as found in 武産合気 (Takahashi, 1986, p. 41).
Shintō studies. In broader religious history, the regalia and sunrise symbolism sit within Shintō’s evolving narratives of royal / cosmic order (see Hardacre; Breen & Teeuwen). The tanka’s “eastern sky” can be read as the renewal axis of Amaterasu’s light within that historiography.
解説; Commentary
第136首「すさの男の／玉の剣は／世にいでて／東の空に／光り放てり」は、“玉（たま）”＝宝玉／みたま（霊）の掛けを帯びた玉の剣が「世に出でて」（潜勢から顕現へ）東天へ向けて「光り放てり」（…て＋あり＞…てり：結果‐存続）と輝度を保つ姿を描きます。東の空は古典的に暁・更新のトポスで、ときにあづまの読みを許すゆえ辺境／前線の含意も差しこまれる、とページ注は押さえています。背後の神話は、須佐之男命が八岐大蛇の尾から得た天叢雲剣（後の草薙剣）であり、ゆえに玉の剣は宝玉の光沢＋霊威を帯びた御剣として機能する——短い五句に顕現→志向→照射の弧を畳みこむ構図です。
六つのプライマーに糸を通すと、ここでの御剣は稽古の運転図になります。プライマーの第一原理〈武＝宇宙原理〉：“神ながら”の秩序に合う剣＝光を放つ原理としての武。プライマーの第二原理〈人との合気〉：東（暁）へ向ける志向は、対人の場を更新へ導く照明として働く。プライマーの第三原理〈心魂一如〉：声・息・身が一拍に揃ってこそ光が“放たれ”続ける（…てりの持続相）。プライマーの第四原理〈和合美化〉：剣は斬滅でなく和と美へ照らす道具。プライマーの第五原理〈体＝道場、心＝修業者／修行者心／学び手〉：“世に出でて”を毎稽古の“ここで出す”へ落とし、基本型で放つ角度／間／拍を磨く。プライマーの第六原理〈「至愛」の源に順う〉：顕現した光（技）を誰を生かすために放つのかを定める北極星。ページは玉＝jewel／tama（みたま）の二重焦点、放てりの古典形、東の読み分けまで示し、御剣＝光の倫理へ導いています。
直前の三首との連関も鮮明です。第133首が「御親の仕組は成り終えぬ……吾はしとめん」と完成の封を誓い、第134首が「松竹梅—錬り清め……身変るの水火」で鍛錬×禊による変容を説き、第135首が「真空と空のむすび」を知の土台と定めた流れの上で、第136首は「世にいでて」と剣＝光を実地へ顕現させ、「東の空」へ再生の方向を明指します。須佐之男の御剣がアマテラスの光（東天の暁）と呼応する読みは、レガリア（草薙）と日の出の象徴連関としてページ注が補強——斬るためではなく、照らすために出る御剣が合気の実践倫理だ、と集約できます。
口語要約のひとこと
「スサノオの玉の剣は、世に出て——東の空に、光を放っている。」
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Appendix I: Change Modification Log
03 JAN 26 - Cross-referenced dōka in Takahashi (1986).21 DEC 25 - Phase V styling applied to waka.28 NOV 25 - Phase IV completion; commentary added.23 NOV 25 - Phase IV preparation.18 OCT 25 - Completed Phase III; prepped Kōgo translation (Phase IV beta).14 APR 20 - Initial notes transferred.