白波の浜松の木の手向けくさ
幾代までにか年は経ぬらむ
幾代までにか年は経ぬらむ
- Roma-ji
-
Shiranami no hamamatsu no ki no tamukekusa ikuyo made ni ka toshi wa henuramu
- English Translation
-
Where the white waves break,
on the pine tree by the shore
the offerings hang—
through how many ages now
have the years gone rolling by?
- Meaning
- The offerings hung on the pine by the shore where the white waves break—through how many ages have the years passed over them?
- Commentary
-
Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems 1716
Headnote: "A poem by Yamanoue"
Seeing offerings hung on a pine tree by a shore of white waves, the poet wonders how many years they have endured. He reflects on the hearts of those who once prayed there for safe travel and on the long passage of time.
A left note says that some attribute the poem to Prince Kawashima. Book One, poem 34, contains an almost identical poem by Prince Kawashima from a progress to Kii, with "the branches of the shore pine" in the second line and toshi no henuramu in the last. The shore pine is thought to be that of Iwashiro in Kii, associated with Prince Arima.
The author, Yamanoue no Okura, was an official and poet of the Nara period who went to Tang China with an embassy and later became governor of Chikuzen. "Yamanoue" in the headnote is thought to refer to him.
The first line, "where the white waves break," leads to the shore.
The second line, "on the pine tree by the shore," corresponds to "the branches of the shore pine" in poem 34 of Book One.
The third line, "the offerings hang," refers to offerings hung on pine boughs in prayer for safe travel.
The fourth line, "through how many ages now," contains the question particle ka, forming a kakari-musubi with ramu.
The final line, "have the years gone rolling by?" joins the perfective nu with the present conjecture ramu.
- Author
- Yamanoue no Okura
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
-
Sasanami no hirayamakaze no umi fukeba tsuri suru ama no sode kaeru miyu
- Next Poem
-
Mitsukawa no fuchise mo ochizu sade sasu ni koromode nurenu hosu ko wa nashi ni