なにとなく聞けば涙ぞこぼれぬる
苔の袂に通ふ松風
苔の袂に通ふ松風
- Roma-ji
-
Nani to naku kikeba namida zo koborenuru koke no tamoto ni kayou matsukaze
- English Translation
-
For no reason at all
as I listen, the tears come
spilling from my eyes—
the wind through the pines that blows
into my moss-dark sleeves.
- Meaning
- For no reason at all, as I listen, my tears spill down—the wind in the pines that blows into the sleeves of my moss-dark robe.
- Commentary
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Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1795
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On 'Wind in the Pines,' for the Kasuga Shrine Poetry Contest."
This is the fifth of the poems on the pine. For no reason at all, as she listens her tears spill down: the wind in the pines blowing into the sleeves of her dark robe. She tells of how the sound of the pine wind reaching one who has left the world draws tears without cause.
The author, "Gishūmon-in no Tango," was the daughter of Minamoto no Yoriyuki and a lady-in-waiting to Gishūmon-in Ninshi, empress of Emperor Go-Toba. She later took vows.
The first line, "nani to naku," means "for no particular reason," showing tears without cause.
The second line, "kikeba namida zo," means "as I listen, tears." The particle "zo" reaches to the close of the third line.
The third line, "koborenuru," closes the kakari-musubi of "zo" with "nuru," the attributive of the perfective "nu," and the poem pauses here.
In the fourth line, "koke no tamoto ni," "koke no tamoto" is the sleeve of the dark robe worn by monks and nuns, showing the poet as one who has taken vows.
The last line, "kayou matsukaze," is the pine wind blowing into her sleeves. On the same topic as the preceding poem, where the pine wind was asked to carry word, here the pine wind draws tears.
- Author
- Gishumon-in no Tango
- Source
- Shin Kokin Wakashu
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Kasugayama tani no umoregi kuchinu tomo kimi ni tsugekose mine no matsukaze
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Mina hito no somukihatenuru yo no naka ni Furu no yashiro no mi o ika ni semu