Toshi hetaru Uji no hashimori koto towan ikuyo ni narinu mizu no minakami

English Translation

Of the aged one,
the Guardian of Uji Bridge,
let me ask this now:
how many ages has it been,
the source of these flowing waters?

Meaning

Let me ask the aged Guardian of Uji Bridge: how many ages has it been since the source of these waters began?

Commentary

Book Seven Felicitation Poems 743

Headnote: "When the Lay Priest Former Regent and Chancellor had people compose poems at Uji on the theme 'The River Water Stays Long Clear' in Kaō 1."
This is the second poem of the sequence on Uji. The speaker resolves to ask the aged Guardian of Uji Bridge how many ages the source of these waters has lasted. According to the headnote, it was composed when the Lay Priest Former Regent and Chancellor had people compose poems at Uji on the topic "The River Water Stays Long Clear" in Kaō 1.
The author was a son of Fujiwara no Akisuke; a poet of the Rokujō Fujiwara house, he wrote poetic treatises such as Fukuro zōshi.
The scene is the poetry gathering at Uji in Kaō 1, and the place is beside Uji Bridge over the Uji River.
The direct occasion is a composition on the topic "Kasui kyūchō," that is, "The River Water Stays Long Clear," at a poetry gathering held at Uji in Kaō 1 (1169). "The Lay Priest Former Regent and Chancellor" of the headnote is written with the same title as in the headnote of the preceding poem.
The source poem is anonymous, in the Kokin wakashū: "Chihayaburu Uji no hashimori nare o shi zo aware to wa omou toshi no henureba."

The first line, "toshi hetaru," means "aged by the years." Taking up "toshi no henureba" of the source poem, it presents the guardian who has spent long years beside the bridge.
The second line, "Uji no hashimori," is the guardian of Uji Bridge. It pairs with "the Maiden of Uji Bridge" in the preceding poem, 742, so poems on the Maiden and the Guardian stand side by side.
The third line, "koto towan," means "let me ask," with "n" expressing intention. The sense breaks after the third line.
The fourth line, "ikuyo ni narinu," is a question: "how many ages has it been?" The content of the question is placed after "koto towan" in the third line.
The last line, "mizu no minakami," ends on a noun and repeats "mizu," water, to shape the rhythm. Taking up the topic "The River Water Stays Long Clear," it presents the long age of the source of the clear, ever-flowing Uji River by posing the question to the aged guardian.

Author

Fujiwara no Kiyosuke

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other