咲きにほふ花のけしきを見るからに
神の心ぞそらに知らるる
神の心ぞそらに知らるる
- Roma-ji
-
Sakiniou hana no keshiki o miru kara ni kami no kokoro zo sora ni shiraruru
- English Translation
-
Blossoms in full bloom—
as soon as I behold them,
the look of the flowers,
the heart of the god is known
as plain as the open sky.
- Meaning
- The moment I behold the look of these blossoms in full bloom, the heart of the god makes itself known, as plain as the open sky.
- Commentary
-
Book Nineteen Poems on the Gods 1906
Headnote: "Composed on seeing blossoms in full bloom along the way when he made a pilgrimage to Kumano."
This is the first poem in the sequence on Kumano. The moment the poet sees the blossoms in full bloom, the heart of the god makes itself known. According to the headnote, he composed it on seeing flowers at their peak along the road when he made a pilgrimage to Kumano. In the beauty of the flowers along the way, he senses the god's joy in welcoming the pilgrim.
The author, "Shirakawa-in Ōmuta," a poem of Retired Emperor Shirakawa, is Emperor Shirakawa, son of Emperor Go-Sanjō, who began rule by retired emperors after abdicating. He made many pilgrimages to Kumano.
Kumano, in Kii Province, is a sacred site made up of the three shrines of Hongū, Shingū, and Nachi, and in the late Heian period retired emperors and nobles made frequent pilgrimages there.
The first line, "sakiniou," means "blooming in full beauty."
The second line, "hana no keshiki o," means "the look of the flowers."
The third line, "miru kara ni," means "as soon as I see them."
The fourth line, "kami no kokoro zo," means "the heart of the god," with the particle "zo" taken up in the last line.
In the last line, "sora ni shiraruru," "sora ni" is a pivot word joining "sora," the sky where the flowers bloom, and "sora ni," "of itself, without being told." The "zo" is closed by "ruru," the attributive of the spontaneous auxiliary "ru," in kakari-musubi. From Hiyoshi and Kitano in the preceding poems, the sequence moves to Kumano.
- Author
- Retired Emperor Shirakawa
- Source
- Shin Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Samenureba omoiawasete ne o zo naku kokoro tsukushi no inishie no yume
- Next Poem
-
Iwa ni musu koke fuminarasu Mikumano no yama no kai aru yukusue mogana