吉野山絶えず霞のたなびくは
人に知られぬ花や咲くらん
人に知られぬ花や咲くらん
- Roma-ji
-
Yoshinoyama taezu kasumi no tanabiku wa hito ni shirarenu hana ya sakuran
- English Translation
-
On Yoshino's hills
why does the haze without end
trail in long bands so?
Could there be flowers blooming
that no one has come to know?
- Meaning
- The haze trails endlessly over Mount Yoshino; could it be that flowers no one knows of are blooming there?
- Commentary
-
Book One Spring Poems 37
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet wonders whether the haze that trails endlessly over Mount Yoshino is there because flowers unknown to anyone are blooming behind it. The existence of unseen flowers is imagined from the haze.
Nakatsukasa was the daughter of Prince Atsuyoshi, son of Emperor Uda, and the poet Ise. She is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
First line, "Yoshinoyama," takes up Yoshino after poem 4 of this book. The Yoshino once sung as a mountain of snow appears here as a mountain of flowers.
Second line, "taezu kasumi no," means "the haze, unceasingly."
Third line, "tanabiku wa," describes haze trailing in long bands, with "wa" marking the topic.
Fourth line, "hito ni shirarenu," means "unknown to people," unseen by anyone.
Final line, "hana ya sakuran," closes "ya" with "ran," conjecturing about flowers that cannot be seen.
- Author
- Nakatsukasa
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
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Sakeba chiru sakaneba koishi yamazakura omoi taesenu hana no ue kana
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Saki sakazu yoso nite mo mimu yamazakura mine no shirakumo tachi na kakushi so