In the many voices
by which one comes to know how
a hill village feels,
all of it is gathered up
into this one growing light
- Meaning
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In the many voices by which one comes to know a mountain village, everything is gathered into this one hour of growing light.
- Commentary
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Part Three: Agemaki
Kaoru had come close to where Oigimi was, but the night passed with nothing between them. At daybreak, listening to the birds and the temple bell mixed together, he spoke this poem. She answered it, and on this night too what he wanted was not granted.
Aware shiraruru is to feel the character of a place without being told it. In toriatsumetaru the syllable tori carries tori, bird, so that the several bird calls and the several feelings gathering in him lie over each other. The dawn of a mountain village is turned straight into a state of mind, and the frustration of a night in which nothing happened is conveyed by the description of sound alone.
- Author
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Murasaki Shikibu
- Source
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Genji Monogatari
- Other
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