限りなき君がためにと折る花は
時しも分かぬ物にぞありける
時しも分かぬ物にぞありける
- Roma-ji
-
Kagiri naki kimi ga tame ni to oru hana wa toki shimo wakanu mono ni zo arikeru
- English Translation
-
For you, whose years
know no limit, I break off
these flowers—
and find they bloom unbound
by any season's turn.
- Meaning
- The flowers I break off for you, whose glory knows no limit, turn out to bloom regardless of the season.
- Commentary
-
Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems I 866
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The flowers picked for one whose prosperity is wished to be boundless are said to bloom without regard to season, a poem of celebration wishing that the other's glory never end.
The author is given as unknown, but a left note says, "Someone says this poem is by the former Chancellor," attributing it to Fujiwara no Yoshifusa. Yoshifusa was the son of Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu and the first subject to become regent.
First line "kagiri naki" modifies "you," praising one with endless prosperity and life.
Second line "kimi ga tame ni to" states the purpose of picking the flowers. The headnote does not say who "you" is; it is a phrase of congratulation to a noble.
Third line "oru hana wa" presents the flowers broken off as a token of celebration.
Fourth line "toki shimo wakanu": shimo is emphatic, meaning "not distinguishing seasons at all." The flowers share in the other's prosperity and bloom at any time.
Fifth line "mono ni zo arikeru" is the same final line as poem 864, closing zo with keru. A poem of pleasant gathering and a poem of congratulation echo each other through the same ending.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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