神奈備の石瀬の社の霍公鳥
毛無の岡にいつか来鳴かむ
毛無の岡にいつか来鳴かむ
- Roma-ji
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Kamunabi no iwase no mori no hototogisu kenashi no oka ni itsuka kinakamu
- English Translation
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In the sacred grove,
in the woods of Iwase,
O cuckoo, you bird,
to the hill of Kenashi
when will you come and sing?
- Meaning
- O cuckoo of the sacred grove of Iwase, when will you come to sing on the hill of Kenashi?
- Commentary
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Book Eight Summer Miscellaneous Poems 1466
Headnote: "A poem by Prince Shiki"
The poet longs for the cuckoo now singing in the grove of Iwase and wonders when it will come to sing on the hill of Kenashi where he is. It expresses the wish to hear up close a voice heard from afar.
The author, Prince Shiki, was a son of Emperor Tenji and the father of Emperor Kōnin. After his death he was honored with the title Emperor Kasuga-no-miya.
The first line, "kamunabi," refers to a wood or mountain where a god dwells.
The second line names the grove of Iwase, thought to lie near present-day Ikaruga in Nara. The first two lines are the same as in 1419 of this book; there the calling bird is begged not to sing, here the cuckoo is begged to come and sing, so a heart that refuses the song and one that seeks it stand in contrast.
The third line is an address, and the poem pauses here.
The fourth line names the hill where the poet is, taken either as "a hill without trees" or as a place name.
The final line forms a kakari-musubi between "ka" and the conjectural "mu," wondering impatiently when it will come to sing. 1470 of this book also begs the cuckoo of the same grove to sing at once.
- Author
- Prince Shiki
- Source
- Manyoshu
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