今日見れば玉のうてなもなかりけり
あやめの草のいほりのみして
あやめの草のいほりのみして
- Roma-ji
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Kyō mireba tama no utena mo nakarikeri ayame no kusa no iori nomi shite
- English Translation
-
When I look today,
no jeweled palaces remain,
so it seems, at all;
thatched with iris grass, they are
nothing but huts everywhere.
- Meaning
- Looking today, there are no jeweled palaces at all, it seems, only huts thatched with iris grass.
- Commentary
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Book Two Summer Poems 110
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
On this festival day, iris grass is laid on the eaves of every house, so that even splendid palaces look like humble huts, the poet observes. Through the contrast of palace and hut, the poem wittily captures the festival scene in which high and low alike thatch their roofs with iris.
First line, "kyō mireba," means "when I look today," on the day of the festival. Taking up "kyō waga yado no" from the preceding poem, it depicts the scene on the festival day.
Second line, "tama no utena mo," means "even palaces adorned with jewels."
Third line, "nakarikeri," means "there were none after all," with "keri" expressing the exclamation of realization. The poem pauses here, in inverted order with the second half.
Fourth line, "ayame no kusa no," repeats the phrase from 108 of this book, continuing the sequence on iris grass.
Final line, "iori nomi shite," means "only huts remaining." Through the contrast of the noble palace and the humble hut, it brings out the look of the town on the festival day.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
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Kinō made yoso ni omoishi ayamegusa kyō waga yado no tsuma to miru kana
- Next Poem
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Ashihiki no yamahototogisu kyō tote ya ayame no kusa no ne ni tatete naku