春きぬと人はいへどもうぐひすの
なかぬかぎりはあらじとぞ思ふ
なかぬかぎりはあらじとぞ思ふ
- Roma-ji
-
Haru kinu to hito wa iedomo uguisu no
nakanu kagiri wa araji to zo omou - English Translation
-
People say, “spring has come,”
yet, unless the bush warbler sings,
I think it has not—
so long as it does not sing,
spring is not yet here.
- Meaning
- People say that spring has already come, yet so long as the bush warbler does not sing to herald it, I think it is not yet spring.
- Commentary
-
Spring Songs, Book One.
A poem of early spring.
In response to people saying, “Spring has come,” the speaker thinks, “It has not,” giving the poem a conversational structure.
It expresses the longing to await the bush warbler, the first messenger of spring.
- Author
- Mibu no Tadamine
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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