今ははや深山を出でて郭公
け近き声を我に聞かせよ
け近き声を我に聞かせよ
- Roma-ji
-
Ima wa haya miyama o idete hototogisu kejikaki koe o ware ni kikaseyo
- English Translation
-
Now, without delay,
leave the deep hills behind you,
O cuckoo bird,
and let me hear your voice
from somewhere close at hand
- Meaning
- Cuckoo, leave the deep mountains now, without delay, and let me hear your voice close at hand.
- Commentary
-
Book Thirteen Love Poems V 950
Headnote: "Sent to Taifu."
The poet calls on the cuckoo to leave the deep mountains now and let him hear its voice close at hand. Likening Taifu to a cuckoo that sings hidden in the mountains, he asks not merely to hear her from afar but to talk with her intimately.
According to the headnote, it was sent to Taifu. The next poem, 951, is Taifu's reply, taking up the deep mountains and the cuckoo. The cuckoo also appears in 912 in this book as a figure for one heard but not seen.
The poet, listed as "the Minister of the Left," was Fujiwara no Saneyori. The eldest son of Fujiwara no Tadahira, he held the post of Minister of the Left when the Gosenshu was compiled and later rose to Regent and Chancellor.
The first line, "Ima wa haya," means "now, quickly."
The second line, "miyama o idete," means "leaving the deep mountains," drawing on the cuckoo's coming down to the villages in early summer.
The third line, "hototogisu," means "O cuckoo," an address standing for Taifu.
The fourth line, "kejikaki koe o," means "a voice close by," a voice of intimate talk.
The last line, "ware ni kikaseyo," means "let me hear it," pressing his request with the imperative.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Saneyori
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Taenu tomo nani omoiken namidagawa nagare au se mo arikeru mono o
- Next Poem
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Hito wa isa miyamagakure no hototogisu narawanu sato wa sumiukarubeshi