心から花のしづくにそほちつつ
うくひずとのみ鳥の鳴くらむ
うくひずとのみ鳥の鳴くらむ
- Roma-ji
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Kokoro kara hana no shizuku ni sobochitsutsu ukuhizu to nomi tori no naku ramu
- English Translation
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Of its own accord
drenched in the dripping dew of blossoms,
over and again—
why then only "sad, not dry"
does the bird keep crying so?
- Meaning
- It is by its own choice that the bird soaks itself in the drops falling from the blossoms—so why does it cry nothing but "How wretched! I never get dry"?
- Commentary
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Book Ten Names of Things 422
Headnote: "Bush warbler"
This poem asks why a bird that soaks itself in the dripping blossoms by its own choice cries nothing but "uku hizu" ("wretched, never dry"). The warbler's call is heard as these words, and within them the title "uguisu" (bush warbler) is hidden. The wit lies in gently teasing the bird, since its wetness comes from its own love of the blossoms. It opens the book of Names of Things, and the last poem of the book, 468, also sings of a heart going in among blossoms, so the book begins and ends with feelings for flowers.
The poet, "Fujiwara no Toshiyuki no Ason," is Fujiwara no Toshiyuki. A son of Fujiwara no Fujimaro, he rose to Captain of the Right Military Guards. He is one of the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets and was also famed as a calligrapher.
First line "Kokoro kara" means "of its own heart, by its own will," showing at the outset that the bird is wet by its own desire.
Second line "hana no shizuku ni" refers to the drops of dew or rain on the blossoms, suggesting the warbler perched on a flowering branch.
Third line "sobochitsutsu" joins "sobotsu" (to be drenched) with the continuative particle "tsutsu," meaning "while getting soaked."
Fourth line "ukuhizu to nomi" means "wretched, not dry." The title "uguisu" is hidden here, and the phrase also works as a playful rendering of the warbler's song.
Fifth line "tori no naku ramu" uses the auxiliary "ramu" to wonder why the bird is crying. Echoing "kokoro kara" in the first line, it closes by teasing the bird for a trouble of its own making.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Toshiyuki
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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