Neya no ue ni katae sashiōi sotomo naru hahirogashiwa ni arare furu nari

English Translation

Over my bedchamber
it spreads one sheltering bough—
outside the house,
on the broad-leaved oak
I hear the hail come down

Meaning

On the broad-leaved oak outside the house, whose one bough spreads over my bedchamber, I hear the hail come pattering down.

Commentary

Book Six Winter Poems 655

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the first poem of the hail sequence. The sound of hail is heard on the broad-leaved oak outside the house, whose bough spreads over the roof of the bedchamber. The headnote continues from the preceding poem with no topic given, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author, "Nōin Hōshi," is Nōin. His lay name was Tachibana no Nagayasu; he took holy orders when young and traveled the provinces visiting famous poetic places. He wrote the poetic handbook Nōin Utamakura.
The scene is a winter night of hail, and the place is a dwelling beside an oak tree.
The direct occasion is not recorded.

The first line, "neya no ue ni," means "above the bedchamber" and runs to six syllables, one over the count.
The second line, "katae sashiōi," means "spreading one bough over it" and runs to eight syllables, one over the count.
The third line, "sotomo naru," means "that stands outside the house."
The fourth line, "hahirogashiwa ni," means "on the broad-leaved oak."
In the last line, "arare furu nari," "nari" is an auxiliary that infers from sound. From inside the bedchamber, the speaker hears the hail striking the broad leaves of the oak whose bough spreads over the roof, and the breadth of the leaves makes the sound of the hail ring out all the more. The poem moves from the waterfowl sequence to the hail sequence, and the next poem, 656, likewise sings of hail.

Author

Nōin

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other