置くからに千草の色になるものを
白露とのみ人の言ふらん
白露とのみ人の言ふらん
- Roma-ji
-
Oku kara ni chigusa no iro ni naru mono o shiratsuyu to nomi hito no iuran
- English Translation
-
As soon as it settles,
it takes the colors of a thousand grasses,
so why, I wonder,
do people only ever
call it the "white" dew
- Meaning
- As soon as it settles, it takes on the colors of all the many grasses—so why do people call it nothing but "white" dew?
- Commentary
-
Book Six Autumn Poems II 310
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet wonders why people call it nothing but "white" dew, when dew takes on the colors of all the many grasses as soon as it settles. Taking up the name "white dew," it wittily catches the mystery of how dew appears, through the contrast between the colors of the grasses and "white."
Following the poems seeing dew as jewels, this poem sings of the color of dew.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us. The text gives the poet as "yomibito mo," which is treated here as "anonymous."
In the first line, "kara ni" means "as soon as": "as soon as it settles." 274 of this book also opens with "oru kara ni."
The second line, "chigusa no iro ni," means "into the colors of many grasses." 335 of this book likewise sings of dew on many grasses in "chigusa ni okeru tama."
In the third line, "mono o" is an adversative conjunctive particle: "though it becomes so."
The fourth line, "shiratsuyu to nomi," means "only as white dew," setting "white" against the colors of the grasses.
In the last line, "ran" is an auxiliary conjecturing a cause: "why do people say so?"
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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Aki no no ni oku shiratsuyu o kesa mireba tama ya shikeru to odorokaretsutsu
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Shiratama no aki no ko no ha ni yadoreru to miyuru wa tsuyu no hakaru narikeri