山里にひとり眺めて思ふかな
世に住む人の心強さを
世に住む人の心強さを
- Roma-ji
-
Yamazato ni hitori nagamete omou kana yo ni sumu hito no kokorozuyosa o
- English Translation
-
In the mountain village
gazing out alone, I muse—
how I think upon
those who dwell within the world,
and the strength of heart they have.
- Meaning
- Gazing out alone in my mountain village, I think deeply on the strength of heart of those who go on living in the world.
- Commentary
-
Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems II 1658
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
This is the first poem of a sequence on the heart of living in a mountain village. Lost in thought alone in the mountain village, the poet reflects on the strength of heart of those who go on living in the world. The headnote gives the topic as unknown and records nothing of the circumstances.
The author, "Saki no Daisōjō Jien," was a son of Regent Fujiwara no Tadamichi and a younger brother of Kujō Kanezane. He served four times as Tendai Abbot and wrote the historical treatise Gukanshō.
The first line, "yamazato ni," means "in the mountain village" where the poet lives.
The second line, "hitori nagamete," means "gazing out alone, lost in thought." "Nagamu" means to sink vacantly into brooding.
The third line, "omou kana," means "how I think." The poem breaks here after the third line with the exclamation "kana."
The fourth line, "yo ni sumu hito no," means "of those who go on living in the world," contrasting himself in the village with those in the world.
The last line, "kokorozuyosa o," means "the strength of their hearts." Through inversion, what he thinks of is placed at the close. From one who can scarcely bear even the loneliness of the mountains, it shows a reversed view, marveling at the strength of those who live on in the harsh world.
- Author
- Jien
- Source
- Shin Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Sadame naki na ni wa tateredo asukagawa hayaku watarishi se ni koso arikere
- Next Poem
-
Yamazato ni ukiyo itowan tomo mogana kuyashiku sugishi mukashi kataran