Wet through as I was,
Still I forced myself to break
These wisteria blooms—
Thinking that within this year
Spring will not have many days.
- Meaning
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Though I was wet with rain, I forced myself to break a branch of blooming wisteria, thinking that there would not be many days of spring left within this year.
- Commentary
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80. Wet Through
There was a person who had planted wisteria in a household that had fallen into decline. On a day near the end of the third month of the lunar calendar, in the late spring, when a gentle rain was falling, he tried to break off some wisteria blossoms and present them to someone.
The poem was composed to accompany the wisteria blossoms.
The poem conveys the meaning that, since it was late spring, he broke the branch wishing to show the wisteria while it was still vivid and beautiful.
In the Narihira Collection it appears as: “Wet through as I was, / Still I forced myself to break / These wisteria blooms— / Thinking that today alone / Is the limit of the spring.” In other words, the house that had fallen into decline was Narihira’s own house, that of the Ariwara family. The wisteria blossom evokes the Fujiwara clan, who held power at the time, and because the phrase “forced myself to break it” is used, the poem can also be interpreted as expressing Narihira’s rebellious thoughts, resentment, and bitterness toward the Fujiwara clan.
- Source
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Ise Monogatari
- Other
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