Having found lodging
by the springtime hills,
as I slept that night,
even within my dreams
blossoms were falling.
- Meaning
- Having taken lodging by the spring hills, on that night even in my dreams the blossoms were falling.
- Commentary
-
Book II, Spring Poems (Part Two)
A poem composed when visiting a mountain temple.
The sight of blossoms falling during the day must have left a deep impression, for even in dreams they continued to scatter, creating a vivid and almost dreamlike scene. The phrase “on a night spent by the spring hills” heightens this imagery.
- Author
- Ki no Tsurayuki
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Other
-
- With azusa bow, as I crossed the springtime hills, along the mountain path, so thickly fell the blossoms there was no way to pass them by.
- I came to the fields of spring to gather young greens, yet here I am— amid the scattering blossoms, I have lost my way.
- If there were no wind to blow, nor valley streams to carry them, how could we ever see the blossoms hidden deep in the hills?
- Wisteria blooms, cling to those who merely gaze and then turn away; even if your tender branches should break in the doing.