袖の浦の波吹き返す秋風に
雲の上まで涼しからなん
雲の上まで涼しからなん
- Roma-ji
-
Sode no ura no nami fukikaesu akikaze ni kumo no ue made suzushikaranan
- English Translation
-
Like the autumn wind
that blows back the waves along
the Bay of Sleeves, may
coolness reach far up to the
heights above the clouds.
- Meaning
- Like the autumn wind that blows back the waves at the Bay of Sleeves, may this fan bring coolness even to the palace above the clouds.
- Commentary
-
Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1497
Headnote: "When the empress presented a fan to the emperor."
This is the second poem of the sequence on early autumn. Like the autumn wind that blows back the waves at the Bay of Sleeves, the poet hopes the fan's breeze will bring coolness even to the palace above the clouds. According to the headnote, it was composed when the empress presented a fan to the emperor.
The author, "Nakatsukasa," was the daughter of Prince Atsuyoshi, and her mother was the poet Ise. She is one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.
The Bay of Sleeves is a famous place in Dewa province, thought to be around present-day Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture.
The first line, "sode no ura no," is hypermetric and presents the famous Bay of Sleeves. The word "sode," sleeve, suggests the sleeve that waves the fan.
The second line, "nami fukikaesu," describes the wind blowing back the waves. It overlays the breeze of the fan on the wind of the sea.
The third line, "akikaze ni," presents the wind of early autumn. Following the autumn dew of the preceding poem, it sings of the autumn wind.
In the fourth line, "kumo no ue made," "above the clouds" means the palace. It wishes that the breeze of the presented fan might reach the emperor.
In the last line, "suzushikaranan," "nan" is a final particle expressing a wish directed at another: "may it be cool." It conveys the congratulations of presenting a fan through the combination of sleeve, wind, and coolness.
- Author
- Nakatsukasa
- Source
- Shin Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Omoi areba tsuyu wa tamoto ni magau tomo aki no hajime o tare ni towamashi
- Next Poem
-
Aki ya kuru tsuyu ya magau to omou made aru wa namida no furu ni zo arikeru