はなの木も今はほりうゑじ春たてば
うつろふ色に人ならひけり
うつろふ色に人ならひけり
- Roma-ji
-
Hana no ki mo ima wa horiueji haru tateba
utsurou iro ni hito naraikeri - English Translation
-
Flowering trees—
no longer shall I dig and plant them;
for when spring comes,
people take after
their ever-changing hues.
- Meaning
- I will no longer dig up and plant flowering trees; for when spring comes, people come to resemble their ever-changing colors.
- Commentary
-
Book II, Spring Poems (Part Two)
A poem paired in a poetry contest at the Empress’s residence during the Kanpyō era.
Even the most beautiful blossoms soon change their color and fall. Seeing this, people too seem to imitate them, becoming just as changeable in heart.
- Author
- Sosei Hoshi
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Other
-
- Though it has become a former capital—Nara, and even in the new capital, their color unchanged, the blossoms bloom as ever.
- Though the hues of flowers are veiled in haze and cannot be seen, at least their fragrance—steal it for me, O spring mountain wind.
- Nowhere, I think, is there a village untouched by spring’s hue; yet some blossoms bloom, while others are not to be seen.
- Why does it so conceal Mount Miwa— spring haze? Are there blossoms blooming there, unseen by human eyes?