散り散らず聞かまほしきを故里の
花見て帰る人も逢はなん
花見て帰る人も逢はなん
- Roma-ji
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Chiri chirazu kikamahoshiki o furusato no hana mite kaeru hito mo awanan
- English Translation
-
Fallen or not yet,
how I long to hear of them;
the old village's
flowers, if only I could meet
one returning from the sight.
- Meaning
- I long to hear whether they have fallen or not; if only I could meet someone coming back from seeing the flowers of the old village.
- Commentary
-
Book One Spring Poems 49
Headnote: "For a folding screen of the Kamo Princess, showing a person traveling along a mountain road"
Wanting to know whether the flowers of the old village have already fallen or still remain, the poet wishes to meet someone returning from seeing them. Her longing for the flowers of a distant home is entrusted to the figure of a traveler on a mountain road. According to the headnote, the poem accompanied a screen of the Kamo Princess depicting a person traveling along a mountain road.
Ise was the daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugukage and served Empress Onshi, consort of Emperor Uda. Known by a name taken from her father's post as Governor of Ise, she is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets and was the mother of Nakatsukasa.
First line, "chiri chirazu," means "fallen or not," the same construction as "saki sakazu" in poem 38 of this book.
Second line, "kikamahoshiki o," with "mahoshi" expressing desire, means "though I long to hear."
Third line, "furusato no," like the preceding poem, sings of the flowers of an old village.
Fourth line, "hana mite kaeru," names one returning from seeing the flowers, overlaid with the traveler on the mountain road in the painting.
Final line, "hito mo awanan," with "nan," a particle expressing a wish directed at another, means "if only I might meet."
- Author
- Ise
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
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Ada naredo sakura nomi koso furusato no mukashi nagara no mono ni wa arikere
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Sakuragari ame wa furikinu onajiku wa nuru tomo hana no kage ni kakuremu