皆人の恋ふるみ吉野今日見れば
うべも恋ひけり山川清み
うべも恋ひけり山川清み
- Roma-ji
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Minahito no kouru miyoshino kyō mireba ube mo koikeri yamakawa kiyomi
- English Translation
-
All the world longs for
lovely Yoshino—seeing it
with my eyes today,
no wonder they longed for it,
so pure its hills and streams
- Meaning
- Everyone yearns for lovely Yoshino—and seeing it today, I understand why they long for it, so pure are its mountains and rivers.
- Commentary
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Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1131
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed at Yoshino"
Visiting Yoshino, the place everyone longs for, the poet is convinced that their longing is only natural. The scenery of Yoshino, pure in its mountains and rivers, is praised with frank admiration.
It is one of the poems composed at Yoshino and connects with poems 1103 to 1106 in this book, which express the thrill of seeing the Yoshino River. The poet is unknown.
The first line, "All the world," means everyone.
The second line, "longs for lovely Yoshino," names Yoshino as the place all long for.
The third line, "seeing it with my eyes today," expresses, like "today at last I've seen" in poem 1103 and others, the thrill of seeing in person.
In the fourth line, "ube" means "indeed, no wonder": it is only natural that people longed for it. The poem pauses here.
The final line, "so pure its hills and streams," is a "-mi" form giving the reason by inversion.
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
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Kamusaburu iwane kogoshiki miyoshino no mikumariyama o mireba kanashi mo
- Next Poem
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Ime no wada koto ni shi arikeri utsutsu ni mo mitekeru mono o omoishi omoeba