水の面にしづく花の色さやかにも
君が御影の思ほゆるかな
君が御影の思ほゆるかな
- Roma-ji
-
Mizu no omo ni shizuku hana no iro sayaka ni mo kimi ga mikage no omohoyuru kana
- English Translation
-
On the water's face
the colors of the flowers
sunk there clear and bright—
so clearly your noble form
rises now within my mind.
- Meaning
- Just as the colors of the blossoms mirrored deep in the pond's surface are clear and vivid, so your noble form comes vividly to my mind.
- Commentary
-
Book Sixteen Poems of Lament 845
Headnote: "Composed on seeing flowers by a pond in a year of court mourning"
This poem was composed in a year of mourning for a deceased emperor, on seeing flowers blooming beside a pond. As the colors of blossoms reflected as if sunk in the water appear clearly, so the late emperor's image rises vividly in the poet's heart. The quiet scene on the water's surface is overlaid with longing for the departed.
Which emperor's mourning is meant is not stated in the headnote; there are theories that it was Emperor Saga or Emperor Ninmyō.
The author, Ono no Takamura, was a court noble and poet of Chinese verse in the early Heian period who rose to the rank of Consultant.
The first line, "on the water's face," takes up the pond of the headnote.
The second line, "the sunken colors of flowers," describes blossoms mirrored so that they seem sunk beneath the water. It has eight syllables, one more than usual.
The third line, "clearly," is led into by the first two lines, which serve as its preface.
The fourth line, "your noble image," refers to the late emperor's form and resonates with the image of a reflection on water.
The last line, "comes to mind," closes with an exclamation that he is naturally remembered.
- Author
- Ono no Takamura
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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