かすがのはけふはなやきそわか草の
つまもこもれり我もこもれり
つまもこもれり我もこもれり
- Roma-ji
-
Kasugano wa kyō wa na yaki so wakakusa no
tsuma mo komoreri ware mo komoreri - English Translation
-
Kasuga Field—
today, burn it not, I pray;
the young spring grass—
my wife, too, is hidden,
and I, too, am hidden.
- Meaning
- Today, burn not Kasuga Field. In the young spring grass, my wife is hidden, and I, too, am hidden.
- Commentary
-
Spring Songs, Book One
During springtime field play, the poem sings of a man and a woman hiding from people’s eyes.
Field play in ancient times was an occasion when courtship took place.
The fourth and fifth lines repeat, creating a simple rhythm.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Other
-
- Though spring has come, in the mountain village where even flowers give no scent, with a weary-sounding cry the bush warbler sings.
- Living near the fields, each morning, morning by morning, the bush warbler’s cry as it sings can be heard— so I listen, dawn by dawn.
- In the deep mountains, even the snow on pine trees has not yet melted; in the Capital, on the fields, young greens are gathered.
- Pushing the azusa bow, today spring rain has fallen; if it falls even tomorrow, I shall gather the young greens then as well.