なほざりに折りつるものを梅の花
濃き香に我や衣染めてむ
濃き香に我や衣染めてむ
- Roma-ji
-
Naozari ni oritsuru mono o ume no hana koki ka ni ware ya koromo some temu
- English Translation
-
Just carelessly
I broke a branch off, and yet,
O plum blossoms, will
I find in your deep fragrance
my robe dyed through and through?
- Meaning
- I only broke off a branch without a thought, and yet will my robe be dyed in the deep fragrance of these plum blossoms?
- Commentary
-
Book One Spring Poems I 16
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
This poem tells how a plum branch broken off without a thought unexpectedly steeps one's robe in its deep scent. It expresses surprise at the strength of the fragrance of a plum casually taken in hand, through the image of dyeing a garment.
The poet, called "the Kan'in Minister of the Left," is Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu. A son of Fujiwara no Uchimaro, he won the trust of Emperor Saga, became the first Head Chamberlain, and rose to Minister of the Left. He is named after his residence, the Kan'in.
The first line, "Just carelessly," means without much thought.
In the second line, "mono o" is adversative, conveying surprise: "I only broke it off, and yet."
The third line, "O plum blossoms," marks the beginning of the plum poems in this book, many of which follow from here.
In the fourth line, "ya" is an interrogative particle forming a kakarimusubi pattern with the attributive "mu" of the last line. The conceit of plum scent passing into one's robe echoes "lest it steep" in 27 and "if my heart is dyed" in 31.
In the last line, "temu" means "surely will." The clinging of the scent to the robe is likened to dyeing it with color.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Fuyutsugu
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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