我が宿の花橘を霍公鳥
来鳴き響めて本に散らしつ
来鳴き響めて本に散らしつ
- Roma-ji
-
Waga yado no hanatachibana o hototogisu kinaki toyomete moto ni chirashitsu
- English Translation
-
In my garden here
the orange tree in flower:
the cuckoo, you bird,
came and filled the air with song
and scattered them at its foot
- Meaning
- The cuckoo came to the orange blossoms in my garden, filled the air with its song, and scattered them at the foot of the tree.
- Commentary
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Book Eight Summer Miscellaneous Poems 1493
Headnote: "A poem on the orange tree by Ōtomo no Murakami"
The poet sings that a cuckoo came to the orange blossoms in his garden, sang loudly, and scattered them at the foot of the tree. While painting the early-summer scene of flower and bird together, the poem carries regret for the fallen blossoms.
The author, Ōtomo no Murakami, was a member of the Ōtomo clan and an official of the Nara period.
The first line names his own garden.
The second line names the orange tree in flower. The first three lines are the same as in 1486 of this book; that poem resents the flowers falling while the cuckoo fails to come, whereas this one says the cuckoo came and scattered them. Not coming and coming both end in scattered flowers, forming a contrast.
The third line names the bird that came to the orange blossoms.
The fourth line means "came and filled the air with song."
The final line, with the perfective "tsu," states that it scattered them at the foot of the tree, leaving a sense of regret for the flowers.
- Author
- Ōtomo no Murakami
- Source
- Manyoshu
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