Yamabito no oru sode niou kiku no tsuyu uchiharau ni mo chiyo wa henu beshi

English Translation

The mountain dweller
plucks them, fragrant on his sleeve,
chrysanthemum dew—
even while he brushes it off,
a thousand years must pass by.

Meaning

The dew of chrysanthemums, fragrant on the sleeve of the mountain dweller who plucks them—even in the moment it takes to brush it away, a thousand years must surely pass.

Commentary

Book Seven Felicitation Poems 719

Headnote: "For a screen for the entry of an imperial consort into the palace in Bunji 6."
This is the third poem of the chrysanthemum sequence. Even in the brief moment of brushing off the dew fragrant on the sleeve of a mountain dweller who plucks chrysanthemums, a thousand years will pass. According to the headnote, it was written for a screen for the entry of an imperial consort into the palace in Bunji 6.
The author was the father of Fujiwara no Teika and compiled the Senzai wakashū. He served as Master of the Empress Dowager's Household.
The scene is autumn, when chrysanthemums bloom, and the place is a mountain painted on the screen where a mountain dweller plucks chrysanthemums.
The direct occasion is a poem written for the screen prepared when Fujiwara no Ninshi, daughter of Kujō Kanezane, entered the palace as a consort of Emperor Go-Toba in the First Month of Bunji 6 (1190).
A precedent with the same conceit is the poem by the monk Sosei in Autumn Poems II of the Kokin wakashū, "Nurete hosu yamaji no kiku no tsuyu no ma ni itsu ka chitose o ware wa henikemu," which shares the idea of a thousand years passing in the brief moment of touching the dew on chrysanthemums.

The first line, "yamabito no," means "of the mountain dweller," a word that can also refer to a hermit sage. A figure of an otherworldly realm among the chrysanthemums of the mountains is presented.
The second line, "oru sode niou," means "the sleeve of the one who plucks them, fragrant." The act of plucking the flowers and the scent transferred to the sleeve are held within one line.
The third line, "kiku no tsuyu," is the dew on chrysanthemums. Such dew was believed to bring long life, and following "the water beneath the chrysanthemums" of 717 in this book and the chrysanthemums of the Long Month in the preceding poem, longevity through chrysanthemums is sung once more.
The fourth line, "uchiharau ni mo," means "even in the moment of brushing it off." The prefix "uchi" adds lightness to the action, presenting a fleeting gesture.
In the last line, "chiyo wa henu beshi," "nu beshi" means "surely will have passed." Through the contrast of a thousand years elapsing in the instant of brushing off dew, the poem celebrates the enduring future of the consort entering the palace. The verb of passing also echoes "through the passing ages" in 715 in this book and "that has passed a thousand years" in 716.

Author

Fujiwara no Shunzei

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other