紅ににほふはいづら白雪の
枝もとををに降るかとも見ゆ
枝もとををに降るかとも見ゆ
- Roma-ji
-
Kurenai ni niou wa izura shirayuki no
eda mo tōo ni furu ka to mo miyu - English Translation
-
Where is the crimson
glowing in beauty?
White snow
seems to have fallen
bending the branches low.
- Meaning
- Where is the crimson said to glow in beauty? It appears as though white snow has fallen, bending the branches low.
- Commentary
-
Episode Eighteen: "In crimson glow"
There was a woman of somewhat affected taste in elegance, and near her lived a man.
The woman was skilled in composing poetry, and when the white chrysanthemums had already passed their prime, she plucked some and sent them to the man with this poem.
Having heard rumors of the man’s amorous reputation, she was curious.
In the poem she provokes him, suggesting, "I have heard you are a man of color, yet from what I see, I perceive no color at all."
- Source
- Ise Monogatari
- Prev Poem
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Kyō kozu wa asu wa yuki to zo furinamashi
kiezu wa ari tomo hana to mimashi ya - Next Poem
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Kurenai ni niou ga ue no shiragiku wa
orikeru hito no sode ka to mo miyu