白妙の妹が衣に梅の花
色をも香をも分きぞかねつる
色をも香をも分きぞかねつる
- Roma-ji
-
Shirotae no imo ga koromo ni ume no hana iro o mo ka o mo waki zo kanetsuru
- English Translation
-
On the snow-white robe
that my beloved is wearing,
the plum blossoms fall,
and both their color and scent
I cannot tell apart at all.
- Meaning
- Plum blossoms fall on my beloved's pure white robe, and I can tell apart neither their color nor their scent.
- Commentary
-
Book One Spring Poems 17
Headnote: "For a folding screen of the former Kamo Princess who lived at Momozono"
Plum blossoms fall upon the white robe of the beloved, and neither the whiteness of flower and robe nor the scent of blossom and the incense in the robe can be told apart. The poem melts the woman's robe and the white plum into one, praising the flower's beauty in both color and scent. According to the headnote, it accompanied a screen of the former Kamo Princess who lived at Momozono.
The author, written as Tsurayuki, is Ki no Tsurayuki. He was the leading compiler of the Kokinshū and wrote its kana preface. Known also as the author of the Tosa Diary, he is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
First line, "shirotae no," is a pillow word for "koromo" (robe), and here also conveys the whiteness of the robe itself.
Second line, "imo ga koromo ni," uses "imo," an affectionate word for a wife or sweetheart, describing plum blossoms nestling against her robe.
Third line, "ume no hana," suggests white plum overlapping with the white of the robe.
Fourth line, "iro o mo ka o mo," sets color and scent side by side. Whereas poem 14 of this book said color may blur but scent has no likeness, this poem finds both color and scent indistinguishable.
Final line, "waki zo kanetsuru," with "waku" meaning "to distinguish," closes in the attributive "tsuru" in response to "zo."
- Author
- Ki no Tsurayuki
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Ka o tomete tare orazaran ume no hana ayanashi kasumi tachi na kakushi so
- Next Poem
-
Asu kara wa wakana tsumamu to kataoka no ashita no hara wa kyō zo yakumeru