濡れてほす山路の菊の露の間に
いつか千歳を我はへにけむ
いつか千歳を我はへにけむ
- Roma-ji
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Nurete hosu yamaji no kiku no tsuyu no ma ni
itsu ka chitose o ware wa henikemu - English Translation
-
drenched, I dry my robes
on a mountain path, among
chrysanthemums—
within the space of this dew,
when did I pass a thousand years?
- Meaning
- While my clothes, soaked on a mountain path, dry among the dew of chrysanthemums, when was it that I came to pass a thousand years?
- Commentary
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Book Five Autumn Poems (Part Two)
A poem composed on a suhama depicting a figure entering a palace where immortals dwell, gathering chrysanthemums.
It plays on “dew of chrysanthemums,” from a Chinese tale in which the dew grants immortality, and “the space of dew,” meaning a very brief time. Assuming the voice of one who has wandered into an immortal realm, the poem expresses the sense that, within a fleeting moment, a thousand years have passed.
Suhama refers to a miniature scenic representation, like a diorama.
- Author
- Sosei Hoshi
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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