春の野の茂き草葉の妻恋に
飛び立つ雉のほろろとぞ鳴く
飛び立つ雉のほろろとぞ鳴く
- Roma-ji
-
Haru no no no shigeki kusaba no tsumagoi ni tobitatsu kiji no hororo to zo naku
- English Translation
-
From the spring meadow's
thick and tangled grassy blades,
yearning for his mate,
the pheasant rises into flight
crying out "hororo"
- Meaning
- Longing for his mate, a pheasant bursts up from the dense grasses of the spring fields, crying "hororo."
- Commentary
-
Book Nineteen Miscellaneous Forms 1033
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poem depicts a pheasant taking flight in longing for its mate. Bringing the onomatopoeic "hororo" into a poem is what marks it as haikai. It pairs with the next poem on a mateless deer: spring and autumn, pheasant and deer.
The author is Taira no Sadafun. The son of Taira no Yoshikaze, he rose to Assistant Commander of the Left Military Guards. Known as Heichū, he is regarded as the amorous hero of the Heichū Monogatari.
First line, "Haru no no no," pairs with "Aki no no ni" at the start of the next poem.
Second line, "shigeki kusaba no," describes the thick grasses where the pheasant hides.
Third line, "tsumagoi ni," reflects the belief that the pheasant cries out for its mate.
Fourth line, "tobitatsu kiji no," shows the pheasant rising from the grass.
Fifth line, "hororo to zo naku," uses "hororo" for the bird's cry or wingbeat, with "zo" answered by attributive "naku."
- Author
- Taira no Sadabumi
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Omoedomo nao utomarenu harugasumi kakaranu yama mo araji to omoeba
- Next Poem
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Aki no no ni tsuma naki shika no toshi o hete nazo waga koi no kaiyo to zo naku