絶等寸の山の峰の上の桜花
咲かむ春へは君し偲はむ
咲かむ春へは君し偲はむ
- Roma-ji
-
Tayuraki no yama no onoe no sakurabana sakamu harube wa kimi shi shinowamu
- English Translation
-
On Tayuraki,
high upon the mountain's peak,
the cherry blossoms;
when in spring they come to bloom,
it is you I shall recall.
- Meaning
- When spring comes and the cherry blossoms bloom on the peak of Mount Tayuraki, it is you I shall remember with longing.
- Commentary
-
Book Nine Love Poems 1776
Headnote: "Two poems sent by the Maiden of Harima when Lord Ishikawa was transferred and went up to the capital"
When spring comes and cherries bloom on the peak of Mount Tayuraki, the speaker says, she will remember the one who has left for the capital. Tying her feeling to the flower season that returns each year, she shows that she will never forget.
According to the headnote, this is the first of two poems sent by the Maiden of Harima when Lord Ishikawa, his term ended, went up to the capital. Mount Tayuraki is thought to be in Harima (around present-day Himeji, Hyōgo), but its location is uncertain. The final line in the text reads kimi shi shinowamu, which does not match the kana reading kimi o shinowamu; the text is followed here.
The author, the Maiden of Harima, is otherwise unknown; some think she was a wandering entertainer of Harima. Lord Ishikawa is thought to be Ishikawa no Kimiko, who was governor of Harima in the Yōrō era.
The first line, "on Tayuraki," names the mountain.
The second line, "high upon the mountain's peak," means on the summit.
The third line, "the cherry blossoms," names the flowers on the peak.
The fourth line, "when in spring they come to bloom," uses harube, "around springtime."
The final line, "it is you I shall recall," uses the emphatic shi with shinou, "to long for one who is far away."
- Author
- the Maiden of Harima
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Hatsusegawa yū watarikite wagimoko ga ie no kanato ni chikazuki ni keri
- Next Poem
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Kimi naku wa nazo mi yosowamu kushige naru tsuge no ogushi mo toramu tomo omowazu