ぬばたまの今夜の雪にいざ濡れな
明けむ朝に消なば惜しけむ
明けむ朝に消なば惜しけむ
- Roma-ji
-
Nubatama no koyoi no yuki ni iza nurena akemu ashita ni kenaba oshikemu
- English Translation
-
In the jet-black night,
in tonight's falling snow, come,
let us get wet now:
when the morning dawns, if it
melts away, how we'd regret it
- Meaning
- Come, let us get wet in tonight's snow; how we would regret it if it melted by the time the morning dawns.
- Commentary
-
Book Eight Winter Miscellaneous Poems 1646
Headnote: "A poem on snow by Oharida no Ason Azumamaro"
The poet calls on his companions to get wet in tonight's snow, for it would be a pity if it melted by morning. Cherishing the fleeting snow, he wishes to taste its present beauty with his own body.
The author, Oharida no Azumamaro, was an official of the Oharida clan.
The first line, "nubatama no," is a pillow word for "night."
The second line means "in the snow of tonight."
The third line, with the volitional "na," calls, "come, let us get wet," and the poem pauses here.
The fourth line means "on the morning when it dawns." The phrase "when the morning dawns" also appears in Prince Ichihara's 1551 in this book; that poem awaits the autumn leaves of the morrow, while this one regrets that the snow will be gone by morning.
The final line, "how we would regret it if it melted," gives at the end, by inversion, the reason for getting wet.
- Author
- Oharida no Azumamaro
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
-
Waga yado no fuyuki no ue ni furu yuki o ume no hana ka to uchimitsuru kamo
- Next Poem
-
Ume no hana e ni ka chiru to miru made ni kaze ni midarete yuki zo furikuru