山深み主に似たる植ゑ木をば
見えぬ色とぞ言ふべかりける
見えぬ色とぞ言ふべかりける
- Roma-ji
-
Yama fukami aruji ni nitaru ueki oba mienu iro to zo iubekarikeru
- English Translation
-
The mountains run deep—
this tree that resembles
its master, then,
should rather be called a hue
that no eye can ever see
- Meaning
- Since the mountains are so deep, this tree that resembles its master ought rather to be called a color no eye can see.
- Commentary
-
Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems III 1230
Headnote: "Reply."
The prince says that since the mountains run deep, the tree resembling its master ought to be called a color that cannot be seen. Taking up Shin'en's likening of the tree to its master's constant heart, he seems to answer playfully that, like the heart of a master living deep in the mountains, the tree's color too is hidden from sight.
It is Prince Yukiakira's reply to Priest Shin'en's preceding poem.
The poet, "Yukiakira no Miko," is Prince Yukiakira. A son of Emperor Uda, he died young.
The first line, "Yama fukami," means "since the mountains are deep," with "mi" giving the cause. It suggests the master living deep in the mountains.
The second line, "aruji ni nitaru," means "that resembles its master," taking up directly the fourth line of the preceding poem.
The third line, "ueki oba," means "the tree," taking up "ueki narikeri" in the last line of the preceding poem.
The fourth line, "mienu iro to zo," means "a color that cannot be seen," with "zo" an emphatic binding particle. It takes up "iro" in the second line of the preceding poem.
The last line, "iubekarikeru," means "should have been called," closing the "zo" with the attributive "keru."
- Author
- Prince Yukiakira
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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