何とかや壁に生ふなる草の名よ
それにもたぐふ我が身なりけり
それにもたぐふ我が身なりけり
- Roma-ji
-
Nani to ka ya kabe ni ou naru kusa no na yo sore ni mo tagū waga mi narikeri
- English Translation
-
What is it called,
that grass which is said to grow
upon the walls?
It is to that very name
that my own life is akin.
- Meaning
- What is it called, the grass that is said to grow on walls? It is that name my life resembles.
- Commentary
-
Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1789
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the third of the poems on impermanence. What is it called, the grass said to grow on walls? Her life is like that name. The grass growing on walls was called "itsumade-gusa," "how-long grass," and without saying the name outright, the poem shows the frailty of a life that knows not how long it will last.
The author, "Kōkamon-in," is Fujiwara no Seishi. A daughter of Fujiwara no Tadamichi, she became empress to Emperor Sutoku and later a Retired Lady.
The first line, "nani to ka ya," means "what is it called?" Feigning not to recall the name, it prompts the reader to supply it.
The second line, "kabe ni ou naru," means "said to grow on walls." "Naru" is the attributive of the hearsay auxiliary "nari." The grass is an ivy called itsumade-gusa.
The third line, "kusa no na yo," addresses "that grass's name," and the poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "sore ni mo tagū," means "akin even to that." In the name "how long" she sees the uncertainty of her own life.
In the last line, "waga mi narikeri," "keri" expresses realization. Keeping the name hidden, she laments a life that knows not how long it will last. Following the dew of the preceding poem, she likens herself to another fleeting thing.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Seishi
- Source
- Shin Kokin Wakashu
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