桜花けふこそかくもにほふとも
あなたのみがた明日の夜のこと
あなたのみがた明日の夜のこと
- Roma-ji
-
Sakurabana kyō koso kaku mo niou tomo
ana tanomigata asu no yo no koto - English Translation
-
Cherry blossoms now
Today bloom in such fragrance—
Yet who can be sure
That beyond in that far place
They will bloom tomorrow night?
- Meaning
- Though the cherry blossoms bloom with such beauty today, who can rely on their being so tomorrow night?
- Commentary
-
90. Cherry Blossoms
A certain man had long wished to make a woman notice him, though she had paid him no attention at all. Perhaps moved by the man's feelings, the woman at last said, “Then tomorrow, let us meet, with a bamboo blind or some partition set between us.”
The poem was composed by the man after hearing the woman’s proposal, when he felt both joy and uncertainty about whether her words were truly sincere.
In the poem the man's feelings are expressed by likening the woman's heart to cherry blossoms that scatter quickly. After being treated coldly for such a long time, it is only natural that he should feel uneasy and unable to believe it completely.
- Source
- Ise Monogatari
- Prev Poem
-
Hito shirezu ware koi shinaba ajikinaku
izure no kami ni naki na ōseru - Next Poem
-
Oshimedomo haru no kagiri no kyō no hi no
yūgure ni sae narinikeru kana