鴬の木伝ふ梅のうつろへば
桜の花の時かたまけぬ
桜の花の時かたまけぬ
- Roma-ji
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Uguisu no kozutau ume no utsuroeba sakura no hana no toki katamakenu
- English Translation
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Where the warblers flit
from branch to branch of the plum,
now its blossoms fade,
and the time of the cherry
is drawing close upon us.
- Meaning
- Now that the plum blossoms, where the bush warbler flits from branch to branch, are fading, the season of the cherry blossoms has drawn near.
- Commentary
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Book Ten Spring Miscellaneous Poems 1854
Headnote: "On Flowers"
Seeing that the plum blossoms where warblers flit have passed their peak, the poet senses that the cherry season is near, and this poem stands at the head of the group headed "On Flowers." It captures in one poem the passing of spring flowers from plum to cherry, showing the anticipation of the season's next stage. Taking up the plum sung in the last poem of the willow group, the flower group begins with plum and moves on toward cherry.
The first line, "the warbler's," is the subject of "flits from branch to branch," showing the pairing of plum and warbler carried over from the bird group.
The second line, "the plum where it flits," shares its motif with "the plum blossoms the warbler scatters as it flits" in 1873.
The third line, "since they fade," uses "utsurou," for a flower's color to wane.
The fourth line, "of the cherry blossoms," names the flower that blooms next, showing the change of the season's leading flower.
In the last line, "toki katamakenu," "katamaku" means that a season draws near and "nu" marks completion, closing with the heart that awaits the cherry season.
- Source
- Manyoshu
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