さくら花ちらばちらなむちらずとて
ふるさと人のきても見なくに
ふるさと人のきても見なくに
- Roma-ji
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Sakurabana chiraba chiranamu chirazu tote
furusatobito no kite mo minaku ni - English Translation
-
Cherry blossoms—
if you must fall, then fall;
though you do not fall,
no one from my old home
comes here to see you.
- Meaning
- Cherry blossoms—if you are to fall, then fall. Even if you do not fall, no one from my old home comes to see you.
- Commentary
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Book II, Spring Poems (Part Two)
A poem composed and sent to the monk Henjō.
The repeated phrasing of “if you fall, then fall—though you do not fall” presses insistently, as if to release pent-up frustration from the heart.
The poet, Prince Koretaka, though the first son of Emperor Montoku, was forced into an unwilling life and eventually took religious vows. The “people of my old home” likely refers to those with whom he had close relations in the capital.
- Author
- Prince Koretaka
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Utsusemi no yo ni mo nitaru ka hanazakura
saku to mishi ma ni katsu chirinikeri - Next Poem
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Sakura chiru hana no tokoro wa haru nagara
yuki zo furitsutsu kiegate ni suru