春霞山にたなびきおほほしく
妹を相見て後恋ひむかも
妹を相見て後恋ひむかも
- Roma-ji
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Harugasumi yama ni tanabiki ōhoshiku imo o aimite nochi koimu ka mo
- English Translation
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Like the haze of spring
trailing over the mountains,
dim and indistinct
I have seen my darling girl—
later I will long for her.
- Meaning
- As the spring haze trails dim over the hills, I have seen my beloved only faintly—and afterward, I am sure, I will long for her all the more.
- Commentary
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Book Ten Spring Love Poems 1909
Headnote: "Love Expressed Through Haze"
This poem says that just as spring haze hangs dimly over the hills, having seen the beloved only faintly will make the longing afterward all the greater. Its headnote is "Love Expressed Through Haze." The dimness of the haze in the upper lines leads into "ōhoshiku," and the frustration of not seeing her clearly foreshadows a mounting longing to come. The haze that announced spring in the miscellaneous poems here expresses the blurred feelings of love.
The first line, "spring haze," names the haze of spring.
The second line, "trailing over the hills," with the upper lines forming a preface leading into "ōhoshiku."
The third line, "ōhoshiku," means dimly, faintly, overlaying the blur of the haze with the faint glimpse of the beloved.
The fourth line, "having met my beloved," refers to the meeting.
In the last line, "nochi koimu ka mo," "mu" is conjecture and "ka mo" exclamatory, closing with the premonition that a faint glimpse will only make later longing greater.
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
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Haru sareba mikusa no ue ni oku shimo no ketsutsu mo are wa koiwataru ka mo
- Next Poem
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Harugasumi tachinishi hi yori kyō made ni aga koi yamazu moto no shigekeba