葦鶴のひとりおくれて鳴く声は
雲の上まで聞こえつがなむ
雲の上まで聞こえつがなむ
- Roma-ji
-
Ashitazu no hitori okurete naku koe wa kumo no ue made kikoetsuganamu
- English Translation
-
The crane among the reeds
left behind all on its own,
the voice of its crying,
I would have it carried on
up to the realm above the clouds.
- Meaning
- I pray that the cry of the crane among the reeds, left behind alone by its flock, will be heard and carried all the way up above the clouds.
- Commentary
-
Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems II 998
Headnote: "Presented in the Kanpyō era on an occasion when poems were presented to the emperor"
In the Kanpyō era of Emperor Uda, the author presented this along with other poems he offered to the emperor. Comparing himself to a lone crane crying after being left behind by its flock, a man passed over for promotion, he wishes that his lament might reach "above the clouds," that is, the emperor at court.
"Above the clouds" is widely used in waka to mean the imperial court. The next poem, 999, has the same headnote, and poems appealing to the emperor continue.
The author is Ōe no Chisato, son of Ōe no Otondo, known for presenting to Emperor Uda a collection of waka composed on lines of Chinese poetry. He is one of the Later Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.
The first line, "the crane among the reeds," refers to a crane by the reedy waterside.
The second line, "left behind all on its own," figures a man left behind in promotion.
The third line, "the voice of its crying," names what is to be heard.
The fourth line, "up to the realm above the clouds," stands for the imperial court.
The last line, "I would have it carried on," uses tsuga, from tsugu, "to pass on," with namu expressing a wish directed at another.
- Author
- Oe no Chisato
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Kannazuki shigure furiokeru nara no ha no na ni ou miya no furukoto zo kore
- Next Poem
-
Hito shirezu omou kokoro wa harugasumi tachiidete kimi ga me ni mo mienamu