花散らふこの向つ峰の乎那の峰の
ひじにつくまで君が代もがも
ひじにつくまで君が代もがも
- Roma-ji
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Hanachirau kono mukatsuo no ona no o no hiji ni tsuku made kimi ga yo mogamo
- English Translation
-
Where the blossoms fall,
on this peak across from us,
the peak of Ona—
till it sinks down to the sand,
may your life last on and on.
- Meaning
- Until the peak of Ona across from us, where the blossoms scatter, wears down to touch the sandbar, may your life go on.
- Commentary
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Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3448
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Miscellaneous Poems"
The singer prays that the beloved's life last until the facing peak of Ona wears down to the water's sandbar, an immense span of years. Using the vast scale of a mountain sinking low, the poem wishes for long life.
It is one of the miscellaneous poems. The peak of Ona is thought by some to be Mount Ona on the north shore of Lake Hamana in Tōtōmi. It is known as a song of blessing for long life, likely sung at banquets.
The poet is unknown. The Azuma uta are thought to have been sung among the people of the eastern provinces, and they are marked by plain, open-hearted expression mixed with local dialect.
First line, "hanachirau": "Hanachirau," the blossoms scatter, leading with "kono" to the peak in view.
Second line, "kono mukatsuo no": "Mukatsuo" is the facing peak; the line is hypermetric.
Third line, "ona no o no": The peak of Ona, thought by some to be on the north shore of Lake Hamana.
Fourth line, "hiji ni tsuku made": "Hiji" is thought to mean a sandbar or mud: until the peak touches the sandbar, an age away.
Final line, "kimi ga yo mogamo": "Yo" is one's life, and "mogamo" a wish, closing in a prayer for long life.
- Source
- Manyoshu
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