わが宿の花踏みしだくとりうたむ
のはなければやここにしも来る
のはなければやここにしも来る
- Roma-ji
-
Waga yado no hana fumishidaku tori utamu no wa nakereba ya koko ni shimo kuru
- English Translation
-
The birds that trample
the flowers of my garden—
I shall drive them off!
Is it because the fields are bare
they come to this very spot?
- Meaning
- I'll strike those birds that trample the flowers of my garden! Is it because the fields have none that they come here, of all places?
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Names of Things 442
Headnote: "Gentian flower"
This poem threatens to strike the birds that trample the garden flowers and asks whether they come only here because the fields have none. The title "ryūtan no hana" (gentian flower) is hidden in "ri utamu no wa na" across the third and fourth lines. "Ryūtan" is the Sino-Japanese reading of gentian. It is a witty poem that playfully voices annoyance at birds spoiling the garden.
The poet, "Tomonori," is Ki no Tomonori. A cousin of Ki no Tsurayuki, he was one of the compilers of the Kokinshu but died before it was completed. He is one of the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
First line "Waga yado no" means "of my house," pointing to the flowers in the garden.
Second line "hana fumishidaku" means "trampling the flowers," describing what the birds do.
Third line "tori utamu" means "I will strike the birds," an expression of intent. The poem pauses here, and the title begins with "ri utamu."
Fourth line "no wa nakereba ya" means "is it because the fields have none?" With the third line it hides the title "ryūtan no hana." "Ya" is an interrogative particle reaching to the fifth line.
Fifth line "koko ni shimo kuru" uses the emphatic "shimo," meaning "here of all places," and closes in the attributive form in answer to "ya."
- Author
- Ki no Tomonori
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Furihaete iza furusato no hana mimu to koshi o nioi zo utsuroinikeru
- Next Poem
-
Ari to mite tanomu zo kataki utsusemi no yo oba nashi to ya omoinashitemu