Akane sasu Asahi no sato no hikagegusa toyo no akari no kazashi narubeshi

English Translation

Where the red dawn glows,
in the village of Asahi,
the sun-shade moss grows—
for the Feast of Abundant Light
it surely will be the garland.

Meaning

The sun-shade moss that grows in the village of Asahi, where the dawn glows red, will surely adorn the headdresses at the Feast of Abundant Light.

Commentary

Book Seven Felicitation Poems 748

Headnote: "A provincial song for the Yuki side at the Great Thanksgiving Festival of Chōwa 5, on Asahi Village in Ōmi Province."
This is the second poem of the sequence of Great Thanksgiving Festival poems. The sun-shade moss of Asahi Village will surely adorn the headdresses at the Feast of Abundant Light. According to the headnote, it is a provincial song on Asahi Village in Ōmi, chosen as the Yuki province for the Great Thanksgiving Festival of Chōwa 5.
The author was a son of Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu and served as Supreme Priest of the Ise Shrine.
The scene is the Great Thanksgiving Festival of Chōwa 5, and the place is Asahi Village in Ōmi Province.
The direct occasion is the composition on a place name of Ōmi Province, designated as the Yuki province for the Great Thanksgiving Festival of Emperor Go-Ichijō in Chōwa 5 (1016).
The Feast of Abundant Light was the banquet held at the close of the Great Thanksgiving Festival and the annual harvest festival. Provincial songs were poems presented as the customs of the Yuki and Suki provinces.

The first line, "akane sasu," is a pillow word leading to "sun" or "morning sun."
The second line, "Asahi no sato no," means "of Asahi Village" in Ōmi Province. Led by the pillow word, the place name appears in brightness.
The third line, "hikagegusa," also called hikage no kazura, is a trailing plant hung on headdresses at Shinto rites. Placing "asahi," morning sun, beside "hikage," sun-shade, the wording plays on the sun's light and its shadow.
The fourth line, "toyo no akari no," means "of the Feast of Abundant Light" held at the close of the Great Thanksgiving Festival. The word "akari," light, echoes "asahi" and "hikage."
The last line, "kazashi narubeshi," means "will surely be the garland," with "beshi" expressing confident conjecture. Saying that a plant of the Yuki province will adorn the feast, the poem ties the province's produce to the celebration. Whereas the preceding poem, 747, sang of the Suki province, this poem sings of the Yuki province, so that the two provinces of west and east stand side by side.

Author

Onakatomi no Sukechika

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other