Kanashisa wa aki no sagano no kirigirisu nao furusato ni ne o ya nakuran

English Translation

Such is the sorrow—
like the cricket of Sagano
in the autumn fields,
do you still, in your old home,
cry aloud with weeping voice?

Meaning

Such is your sorrow, like the cricket in the autumn fields of Sagano—do you still cry aloud in the home you have long known?

Commentary

Book Eight Lament Poems 786

Headnote: "Sent to Major Counselor Sanekuni at a time when he was grieving over the death of Lord Kintoki's mother."
This is the twelfth poem of the sequence remembering the dead through the things of autumn. Thinking of one who has lost his wife, it wonders whether, with a sorrow like that of the cricket of Sagano in autumn, he still cries aloud in the home he has long known. According to the headnote, it was sent to Major Counselor Sanekuni when he was grieving over the death of Lord Kintoki's mother.
The son of Minister of the Right Fujiwara no Kin'yoshi, the author rose to Minister of the Left. "Major Counselor Sanekuni" is Fujiwara no Sanekuni, son of Palace Minister Fujiwara no Kinnori, who rose to Provisional Major Counselor. "Lord Kintoki" is Sanekuni's son Fujiwara no Kintoki, whose mother was Sanekuni's wife.
The scene is autumn after the death of Kintoki's mother, and the place is not recorded.
The direct occasion is consoling Sanekuni, who was grieving over the loss of his wife.

The first line, "kanashisa wa," means "as for that sorrow," leading into the figure of the cricket from the second line on.
The second line, "aki no sagano no," takes up "saga no nobe" from the preceding poem, 785, carrying over the scene of Sagano as it is.
The third line, "kirigirisu," is an autumn insect corresponding to today's cricket. As an insect that cries on autumn nights, it is likened to the voice of one who grieves. Following "mushi no ne" in 784 of this book, it again sings of insects.
In the fourth line, "nao furusato ni," "furusato" means the home one has long lived in. "Nao" means "still," describing how he goes on grieving in the same house after his wife's death.
In the last line, "ne o ya nakuran," "ne" is voice, and "naku" is a pivot word meaning both for the cricket to chirp and for a person to weep. "Ya" is an interrogative binding particle, completed by the attributive "ran." Over the voice of the cricket lies the voice of Sanekuni weeping for his lost wife. The next poem, 787, also sings of Sagano, continuing the poems of Sagano.

Author

Fujiwara no Sanesada

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other