Haru no no ni asaru kigisu no tsumagoi ni ono ga arika o hito ni shiretsutsu - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

春の野にあさる雉の妻恋ひに
おのがありかを人に知れつつ

Roma-ji: Haru no no ni asaru kigisu no tsumagoi ni ono ga arika o hito ni shiretsutsu
English Translation: On the fields of spring
the pheasant searching for food
in longing for its mate
lets its own whereabouts be known
to people again and again.
Meaning: The pheasant foraging in the spring fields, crying out in longing for its mate, keeps betraying its hiding place to people.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 21

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
A pheasant foraging in the spring fields cries out in search of its mate, and by that very cry lets people know where it is. In the image of a bird so absorbed in love that it forgets to hide, the poem carries both pity and sympathy.
Ōtomo no Yakamochi was a poet of the Nara period and the son of Ōtomo no Tabito. He is thought to have been deeply involved in compiling the Man'yōshū and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
The poem appears in Book Eight of the Man'yōshū as Yakamochi's, with the fourth line "ono ga atari o."

First line, "haru no no ni," sets the scene in the spring fields.
Second line, "asaru kigisu no," uses "asaru," meaning "to search for food."
Third line, "tsumagoi ni," refers to crying out in longing for a mate, giving the reason for the pheasant's call.
Fourth line, "ono ga arika o," means "its own whereabouts," pointing to the irony that a bird that ought to hide reveals itself.
Final line, "hito ni shiretsutsu," uses "tsutsu" for repetition, showing that each cry makes it known again; ending on "tsutsu" leaves a lingering mood.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Shui Wakashu
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