白露に風の吹きしく秋の野は
貫き留めぬ玉ぞ散りける
貫き留めぬ玉ぞ散りける
- Roma-ji
-
Shiratsuyu ni kaze no fukishiku aki no no wa tsuranuki tomenu tama zo chirikeru
- English Translation
-
Upon the white dew
the wind blows without ceasing
in the autumn fields,
and jewels never fastened on a thread
are scattered all about
- Meaning
- In the autumn fields where the wind keeps blowing on the white dew, jewels that were never strung on a thread lie scattered everywhere.
- Commentary
-
Book Six Autumn Poems II 308
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When, in the Engi era, the emperor called for poems."
The poet says that in the autumn fields, where the wind blows without ceasing on the white dew, jewels never fastened on a thread seem to scatter everywhere. Likening dew blown about by the wind to jewels from a broken string, it captures the lively beauty of the autumn fields.
From 306 to 309, four poems on white dew stand together under the headnote "When, in the Engi era, the emperor called for poems." It is famous as a poem included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
The poet, Fun'ya no Asayasu, was a son of Fun'ya no Yasuhide and served as senior secretary of the Bureau of Palace Attendants, among other posts.
The first line, "Shiratsuyu ni," means "on the white dew."
In the second line, "fukishiku" means "to blow without ceasing." 261 and 264 of Book Five also use "fukishiku."
The third line, "aki no no wa," means "the autumn fields," taking up "aki no no no," the first line of the preceding poem.
The fourth line, "tsuranuki tomenu," means "not fastened on a thread," taking up "tama to nukuran" in the preceding poem and seeing the dew as jewels never strung.
The last line, "tama zo chirikeru," means "jewels lie scattered," with the particle "zo" and the attributive "keru" forming a kakarimusubi pattern.
- Author
- Fun'ya no Asayasu
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Aki no no no kusa wa ito to mo mienaku ni oku shiratsuyu o tama to nukuran
- Next Poem
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Aki no no ni oku shiratsuyu o kesa mireba tama ya shikeru to odorokaretsutsu