木隠れて五月待つとも郭公
羽ならはしに枝移りせよ
羽ならはしに枝移りせよ
- Roma-ji
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Kogakurete satsuki matsu tomo hototogisu hane narawashi ni edautsuri seyo
- English Translation
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Hidden in the trees,
though you wait for the Fifth Month,
little cuckoo, come,
to practice those wings of yours,
flit from branch to branch for me
- Meaning
- Even if you hide among the trees to wait for the Fifth Month, little cuckoo, flit from branch to branch, as if to practice your wings.
- Commentary
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Book Four Summer Poems 159
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet calls to the cuckoo: even if you hide in the trees waiting for the Fifth Month, move from branch to branch as if to practice your wings. To a bird that does not sing in earnest until the Fifth Month, she shows her impatience, wishing for at least a glimpse or a sign of it.
The cuckoo was thought to wait for the Fifth Month to sing in full voice, and the Kokin Wakashū too has many poems on the cuckoo awaiting the Fifth Month.
The poet, Ise, was the daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugukage, governor of Ise, and served Empress Onshi, consort of Emperor Uda. She won Emperor Uda's favor and later bore Nakatsukasa to Prince Atsuyoshi. She is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
The first line, "Kogakurete," means "hidden in the trees," describing the cuckoo that has not yet shown itself.
In the second line, "tomo" is an adversative supposition: "even if you wait for the Fifth Month." It was in the Fifth Month that the cuckoo was thought to sing most.
The third line, "hototogisu," calls to the cuckoo.
The fourth line, "hane narawashi ni," means "to practice your wings," with the sense of rehearsing even if it is not yet time to sing.
The last line, "edautsuri seyo," calls in the imperative: "move from branch to branch." It is a wish to see at least some sign of movement.
- Author
- Ise
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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