人目だに見えぬ山路に立つ雲を
誰すみがまの煙と言ふらん
誰すみがまの煙と言ふらん
- Roma-ji
-
Hitome dani mienu yamaji ni tatsu kumo o tare sumigama no kemuri to iuran
- English Translation
-
On a mountain path
where not even a soul is seen,
the clouds that rise up—
who would call them the smoke
of a charcoal kiln where one lives
- Meaning
- Who could call the clouds rising over a mountain path where not a soul is to be seen the smoke of a charcoal kiln where someone lives?
- Commentary
-
Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems IV 1257
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet asks who would call the clouds rising on a mountain path where no one is seen the smoke of a charcoal kiln where someone lives. Joining "sumi," dwelling, and "sumi," charcoal, he conveys the loneliness of deep mountains with no sign of habitation by seeing the clouds as smoke.
The poet, "the Kitanobe Minister of the Left," is Minamoto no Makoto. A son of Emperor Saga, he left the imperial family and was given the surname Minamoto. He rose to Minister of the Left and was called the Kitanobe Minister.
The first line, "Hitome dani," means "not even a soul," with "dani" naming a small thing to imply a greater.
The second line, "mienu yamaji ni," means "on a mountain path where none are seen."
The third line, "tatsu kumo o," means "the clouds that rise."
The fourth line, "tare sumigama no," is a pivot word on "sumi," both dwelling and charcoal: a place where someone lives, and a kiln burning charcoal.
The last line, "kemuri to iuran," means "would call them smoke," with "ran" a conjecture answering the "who" of the fourth line. "Rise" is an associated word with "clouds" and "smoke."
- Author
- Genshin
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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