殿守のとものみやつこよそにして
はらはぬ庭に花ぞ散りしく
はらはぬ庭に花ぞ散りしく
- Roma-ji
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Tonomori no tomo no miyatsuko yoso ni shite
harawanu niwa ni hana zo chirishiku - English Translation
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The palace guards
and their men stand far aside;
in the unswept court,
where no one tends the garden,
flowers have fallen and lie.
- Meaning
- The palace guards and their men stand idly by, and in the court no one bothers to sweep; in that neglected garden, fallen flowers now lie scattered across the ground.
- Commentary
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Section Twenty-Seven: The Festival of the Transfer of the Realm. This poem takes as its original poem a verse from the Shūishū: “If the palace guards and their men had any feeling, they would not sweep only on spring mornings” (by Minamoto no Kintada). It conveys the Retired Emperor’s melancholy and his feelings expressed through fallen blossoms. The garden refers to that of the Tsuchimikado Palace of the former Emperor Hanazono. “The palace guards and their men” is a poetic expression for the lower-ranking officials who were engaged in duties such as cleaning in the Office of Palace Maintenance.
- Author
- Yoshida Kenko
- Source
- Tsurezuregusa
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