住吉の里行きしかば春花の
いやめづらしき君に逢へるかも
いやめづらしき君に逢へるかも
- Roma-ji
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Suminoe no sato yukishikaba haruhana no iya mezurashiki kimi ni aeru ka mo
- English Translation
-
To Suminoe's
village it was that I went,
and like spring flowers
ever more wondrous to me,
you are the one I have met!
- Meaning
- When I went to the village of Suminoe, I met you—more and more wondrous to me, like the flowers of spring.
- Commentary
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Book Ten Spring Miscellaneous Poems 1886
Headnote: "Rejoicing at a Meeting"
This poem sings of the joy of unexpectedly meeting someone as wonderful as spring flowers on a visit to the village of Suminoe, and its headnote is "Rejoicing at a Meeting." "Haruhana no," like spring flowers, is a simile leading into "mezurashi," likening the charm of the person met to the beauty of spring blossoms. Whereas the preceding two poems lamented and consoled old age, this one sings of the joy of meeting, adding a bright mood near the end of the tanka among the spring miscellaneous poems.
The first line, "of Suminoe," names Suminoe in Settsu Province, around present-day Sumiyoshi in Osaka, known as a seaside place with the Sumiyoshi Shrine.
In the second line, "sato yukishikaba," "shika" is the perfective form of the past auxiliary "ki" and "ba" an established condition: when I went.
The third line, "haruhana no," is a simile leading into "mezurashi": like spring flowers.
In the fourth line, "iya mezurashiki," "iya" means ever more and "mezurashi" means captivating, wonderful.
In the last line, "kimi ni aeru ka mo," "ru" is the attributive of "ri," and "ka mo" is exclamatory, closing with joy at the meeting.
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Mono mina wa aratashiki yoshi tadashiku mo hito wa furinishi yoroshikarubeshi
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