梅の花まだ散らねども行く水の
底にうつれる影ぞ見えける
底にうつれる影ぞ見えける
- Roma-ji
-
Ume no hana mada chiranedomo yuku mizu no soko ni utsureru kage zo miekeru
- English Translation
-
The plum blossoms here
have not yet scattered, and yet
in the flowing stream
reflected on its riverbed
their image can be seen.
- Meaning
- Though the plum blossoms have not yet fallen, their image can be seen reflected on the bed of the flowing stream.
- Commentary
-
Book One Spring Poems 25
Headnote: "For a folding screen in the reign of Engi, showing people viewing plum blossoms by the water"
Though the plum blossoms still bloom on the branch and have not fallen, their image can be seen at the bottom of the flowing water. The charm lies in seeing the reflection on the riverbed as though the flowers had fallen, then realizing it is only their reflection. According to the headnote, the poem accompanied a screen painting from the Engi era showing people viewing plum blossoms by the water.
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, "ume no hana," opens by naming the subject.
Second line, "mada chiranedomo," with the concessive particle "domo," means "though they have not yet fallen."
Third line, "yuku mizu no," indicates the flowing water of the stream.
Fourth line, "soko ni utsureru," combines the image being "reflected" in the water and the flowers "moving" to the riverbed. The conceit is that blossoms that have not yet fallen seem to have moved to the bottom of the stream.
Final line, "kage zo miekeru," with "kage" meaning "form" or "image," closes in the attributive "keru" in response to "zo."
- Author
- Ki no Tsurayuki
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
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