ふるさとと思ひなはてそ花桜
かかる御幸に逢ふ世ありけり
かかる御幸に逢ふ世ありけり
- Roma-ji
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Furusato to omoi na hate so hanazakura kakaru miyuki ni au yo arikeri
- English Translation
-
Do not think yourself
a forsaken capital,
O cherry blossoms—
there has come an age in which
you meet such a royal progress.
- Meaning
- Do not resign yourselves to thinking this merely an old, forgotten capital, O cherry blossoms—an age has come in which you meet so grand a royal progress.
- Commentary
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Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1457
Headnote: "Tied to a branch of the double-flowered cherry at Kōfukuji, seen in full bloom at the time of the imperial progress to the dedication of Tōdaiji in Kenkyū 6."
This is the seventh poem of the sequence on the cherry. It calls to the double-flowered cherry of Nara, urging it not to think itself a forsaken old capital, for an age has come in which it meets such a royal progress. According to the headnote, when the emperor made a progress to the dedication of Tōdaiji in Kenkyū 6 (1195), this poem was found tied to a branch of the double-flowered cherry at Kōfukuji, then in full bloom.
The author is "anonymous," and the name has not come down to us.
The dedication of Tōdaiji in Kenkyū 6 was a ceremony celebrating the rebuilding of Tōdaiji, which had been burned in the Genpei War; Emperor Go-Toba made a progress there, and Minamoto no Yoritomo also attended. The double-flowered cherry of Kōfukuji is famous from Ise no Taifu's poem in the Shika Wakashū: "Inishie no / Nara no miyako no / yaezakura / kyō kokonoe ni / nioinuru kana" ("The double-flowered cherries of Nara, the ancient capital, today glow within the ninefold palace").
In the first line, "furusato to," "furusato" means a place where the capital once stood, an old capital. It refers to Nara, site of the Heijō capital.
The second line, "omoi na hate so," adds "hatsu" to the prohibitive "na ... so," meaning "do not wholly resign yourself to thinking."
The third line, "hanazakura," addresses the double-flowered cherry of Kōfukuji. The poem breaks after the third line.
The fourth line, "kakaru miyuki ni," refers to the progress to the dedication of Tōdaiji. Following the earlier poems in the sequence, blossoms and royal progress are again paired.
In the last line, "au yo arikeri," "keri" expresses the emotion of sudden realization. It shows joy that even Nara, faded into an old capital, has seen a glorious age of a royal visit come round.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Shin Kokin Wakashu
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