わがたのむ君がためにと折る花は
時しもわかぬものにぞありける
時しもわかぬものにぞありける
- Roma-ji
-
Waga tanomu kimi ga tame ni to oru hana wa
toki shi mo wakanu mono ni zo arikeru - English Translation
-
For the lord I trust
The flowers that I break for him
Are such as these—
They know nothing of the time,
Ever blooming without end.
- Meaning
- The flowers I break for the lord in whom I place my trust are such that they do not know the season; they are always in bloom.
- Commentary
-
98. The Lord I Trust
There was a man who was known as the Great Minister of State.
The poem was composed by a man who served this Great Minister when, around the ninth month of the lunar calendar, he presented a branch of artificial plum blossoms adorned with pheasant feathers.
The minister was greatly impressed and immediately granted him a reward.
By offering flowers that never wither, he expresses the wish that his lord’s prosperity will continue for a long time. The poem reveals the deep trust within the bond between lord and retainer.
- Source
- Ise Monogatari
- Other
-
- Though through the autumn I said it without such thought, It was never so— Yet like leaves that fall and lie Our bond proved shallow indeed.
- Cherry blossoms fall— Scatter and cloud all the air, Hide it from my sight, So the road by which old age Is said to come loses its way.
- Not that I saw you, Yet not that I saw you not— Still you are dear to me; Without cause today perhaps I gaze on and pass the day.
- Known or not known— Why should we idly divide And speak of such things? Feeling alone surely is The guide upon the way.