Wisteria blooms,
cling to those who merely gaze
and then turn away;
even if your tender branches
should break in the doing.
- Meaning
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O wisteria blossoms, cling to those who only look from afar and then depart—even if your branches should break in the doing.
- Commentary
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Book II, Spring Poems (Part Two)
A poem sent after women returning from Shiga stopped at Hanayama Temple to see the wisteria blossoms and then left without greeting the resident priest.
Rather than outright reproach, it carries a tone of amused exasperation. The idea of blossoms clinging to the visitors, even at the cost of breaking their branches, adds a touch of wit and humor.
- Author
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Sojo Henjo
- Source
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Kokin Wakashu
- Other
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