花の木を植ゑしもしるく春来れば
わが宿過ぎて行く人ぞなき
わが宿過ぎて行く人ぞなき
- Roma-ji
-
Hana no ki o ueshi mo shiruku haru kureba waga yado sugite yuku hito zo naki
- English Translation
-
The trees of blossoms
that I planted show their worth,
for when the spring comes
of those who pass by my house
not one goes on without a stop.
- Meaning
- Planting those flowering trees has clearly paid off, for when spring comes no one passes my house without stopping.
- Commentary
-
Book One Spring Poems 52
Headnote: "For a three-foot folding screen in the reign of the En'yū Retired Emperor"
Thanks to the flowering trees planted long ago, in spring no passerby goes by the poet's house without stopping. Following the mountain-village flowers of the preceding poem, it portrays the flowers' power to invite people as a joy of one's own home. According to the headnote, the poem accompanied a three-foot screen in the reign of Emperor En'yū.
Taira no Kanemori was a poet of the mid-Heian period, of the line of Emperor Kōkō; as a son of Prince Atsuyuki he received the surname Taira. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
First line, "hana no ki o," names the flowering trees.
Second line, "ueshi mo shiruku," with "shirushi" meaning "evident" or "effective," means the planting has clearly borne fruit.
Third line, "haru kureba," is the same line as in poems 45 and 46 of this book.
Fourth line, "waga yado sugite," means "passing by my house."
Final line, "yuku hito zo naki," closes in the attributive "naki" in response to "zo." It echoes the joy of seeing visitors in a mountain village in the preceding poem.
- Author
- Taira no Kanemori
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Tou hito mo araji to omoishi yamazato ni hana no tayori ni hitome miru kana
- Next Poem
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Sakurairo ni waga mi wa fukaku narinuran kokoro ni shimete hana o oshimeba