VOX POPULI: Fascination with Venus one of love, loathing

The term kinu ginu (morning after) carries amorous overtones that refer to dawn for couples who spent the previous night together.

"I know once the day dawns/ Night will come (and I can meet you again)/ Still I resent daybreak" is a tanka by a Heian Period (794-1185) poet. Apparently, the sentiment has been common to all people across the world since ancient times.

Take, for example, the following poem that goes back to ancient Greece quoted in "Hoshi Sanbyakurokujugo-ya" (365 nights of stars) written by astronomer and writer Hoei Nojiri (1885-1977).

"Morning star, you stand in the way of love/ Why do you look down on my bed so early? /... Your light is beautiful, but when you shine on me, I find it very painful." The way the poet expressed a bitter feeling toward the morning star whose light ushers in dawn is romantic and sensual.

Needless to say, the planet referred to as the morning or the evening star is Venus. It is very bright and glitters. In fact, it is the third-brightest celestial body after the sun and the moon. When it is at its brightest, I heard it can cast a shadow on the ground.

Tuesday morning, Japan was due to launch its first Venus probe, Akatsuki, to the planet named after the Roman goddess of beauty and love. (The launch was postponed due to weather conditions.)

Contrary to its graceful name, Venus is actually a planet of blazing heat and bleakness. Most of its atmosphere is carbon dioxide and the temperature at the surface tops 400 degrees. It is covered by a thick cloud of concentrated sulfuric acid, below which are stormy winds.

While it was originally a "twin star" with characteristics similar to the Earth, the two planets developed very differently.

Still, one of the reasons for its brightness is the fact that clouds reflect about 80 percent of sunlight. The presence of Venus as an adversary to love owes much to the dreadful clouds that surround it.

The following verse, translated into Japanese by Miyuki Kitajima, is also attributed to an ancient Greek poet:

"Evening star, you bring back all things scattered by the light of dawn. You bring back sheep and goats and return children to their mothers."

While thinking about woeful poems of morning and idyllic ones of evening, I hope the Venus probe's mission will be fruitful.

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 18

* * *

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.