見ぬ人の形見がてらは折らざりき
身になずらへる花にしあらねば
身になずらへる花にしあらねば
- Roma-ji
-
Minu hito no katami gatera wa orazariki mi ni nazuraeru hana ni shi araneba
- English Translation
-
For one you don't see
as a keepsake, by the way,
I did not break it;
this is not a flower that
could be likened to myself
- Meaning
- I did not break off that branch to serve as a keepsake of someone you cannot see; these are not flowers that could be likened to me.
- Commentary
-
Book Two Spring Poems II 52
Headnote: "Reply."
To the preceding poem, which said the cherry seen as a keepsake of someone absent brought no comfort, Ise replies that she did not break it off as a keepsake; such lovely blossoms cannot be compared to her. Lightly parrying the other's words, she praises the flowers' beauty and humbles herself.
It forms an exchange with the preceding poem, 51. It is the answer of Ise, who sent the cherry, to the poem of the friend who received it.
The poet, Ise, was a daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugukage, governor of Ise, and served Empress Onshi, consort of Emperor Uda. She received Emperor Uda's favor and later bore Nakatsukasa to Prince Atsuyoshi. She is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
The first line, "Minu hito no," refers to the person not seen, that is, Ise herself, answering the preceding poem's lament at not meeting the sender.
In the second line, "gatera" means "while also serving as," so "as a keepsake besides." It takes up the word "katami" from the preceding poem, 51.
In the third line, "ki" is the past auxiliary: "I did not break it." The poem pauses here.
In the fourth line, "nazurau" means to compare or liken: "flowers likened to myself."
In the last line, "shi" is emphatic, giving the reason: "since they are not such flowers." Refusing to compare the lovely cherry to herself, she speaks with modesty.
- Author
- Ise
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Sakurabana iro wa hitoshiki eda naredo katami ni mireba nagusamanaku ni
- Next Poem
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Fuku kaze o Narashi no yama no sakurabana nodokeku zo miru chiraji to omoeba