春雨に争ひかねて我が宿の
桜の花は咲きそめにけり
桜の花は咲きそめにけり
- Roma-ji
-
Harusame ni arasoikanete waga yado no sakura no hana wa sakisomenikeri
- English Translation
-
To the rain of spring
unable to hold out long,
at my own dwelling
the blossoms of the cherry
have begun to open now.
- Meaning
- Unable to hold out against the spring rain, the cherry blossoms at my home have begun to open.
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Spring Miscellaneous Poems 1869
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Flowers"
This poem sings of the cherry at the poet's home beginning to bloom, as if urged on by the spring rain. The personifying phrase that the blossoms bloom "unable to resist" the rain shows the poet's joy at flowers long awaited. Whereas 1864 worried over cherry scattered by spring rain, this poem sings of cherry opened by spring rain, contrasting the rain that both scatters and brings forth blossoms.
The first line, "to the spring rain," presents the rain as what makes the flowers bloom.
In the second line, "arasoikanete," "kanu" means to be unable to, giving the sense of unable to resist the spring rain, a personification of the flowers.
The third line, "of my dwelling," shows that these are cherry blossoms in the poet's own garden.
The fourth line, "the cherry blossoms," marks the theme; against the mountain cherry of 1864, this is the cherry at home.
In the last line, "sakisomenikeri," "somu" means to begin and "keri" expresses exclamatory realization, closing with joy at noticing the first blossoms.
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Kawazu naku yoshino no kawa no taki no ue no ashibi no hana zo hashi ni oku na yume
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Harusame wa itaku na furi so sakurabana imada minaku ni chiramaku oshi mo