里ごとに鳴きこそ渡れ郭公
すみか定めぬ君尋ぬとて
すみか定めぬ君尋ぬとて
- Roma-ji
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Sato goto ni naki koso watare hototogisu sumika sadamenu kimi tazunu tote
- English Translation
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From village to village
crying, it wanders on,
the cuckoo,
seeking you, who never settle
on a single place to dwell
- Meaning
- The cuckoo cries as it goes from village to village, searching for you, who never settle in any one place.
- Commentary
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Book Nine Love Poems I 548
Headnote: "Reply."
The poet says the cuckoo cries as it goes from village to village because it is searching for her, who never settles in any one place. Taking up his likening to a fickle cuckoo in the preceding poem, he retorts that it is rather the woman who is inconstant.
It is a reply to the preceding poem. Taking up "hototogisu," he places it likewise in the third line, and answers "waga yado chikaku naku koe" with "sato goto ni naki."
The poet, called "Atsuyoshi no Miko," is Prince Atsuyoshi. A son of Emperor Uda, he was so handsome that he was called the Prince of Shining Jewels. With Ise he fathered Nakatsukasa.
The first line, "Sato goto ni," means "in every village."
The second line, "naki koso watare," means "it goes on crying from place to place," the particle "koso" and the perfective "watare" forming a kakarimusubi pattern. The poem pauses here.
The third line, "hototogisu," places the same word as the third line of the preceding poem, here as a figure for himself.
The fourth line, "sumika sadamenu," means "who never fixes a dwelling," referring to the fickle woman.
The last line, "kimi tazunu tote," means "because it seeks you," giving the reason for the second line in inverted order.
- Author
- Prince Atsuyoshi
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Tsurashi to mo ikaga uramin hototogisu waga yado chikaku naku koe wa sede
- Next Poem
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Kazu naranu miyamagakure no hototogisu hito shirenu ne o nakitsutsu zo furu