あしひきの山郭公今日とてや
あやめの草のねにたてて鳴く
あやめの草のねにたてて鳴く
- Roma-ji
-
Ashihiki no yamahototogisu kyō tote ya ayame no kusa no ne ni tatete naku
- English Translation
-
From the rugged hills
the mountain cuckoo, is it
because it is today,
like the iris grass's root,
lifts its voice up as it sings?
- Meaning
- Is it because today is the festival that the mountain cuckoo raises its voice in song, as the iris raises its roots?
- Commentary
-
Book Two Summer Poems 111
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
On the festival day, hearing the mountain cuckoo raise its voice, the poet playfully wonders whether the bird knows what day it is. With "ne" meaning both the root of the iris and the sound of a cry, the poem links the iris grass and the cuckoo, both emblems of the festival.
The author, called the Engi Emperor, is Emperor Daigo. A son of Emperor Uda, his reign was praised as the Engi era of good government, and he ordered the compilation of the Kokinshū.
First line, "ashihiki no," is a pillow word that modifies "yama" (mountain). The original text writes it with the characters 葦引.
Second line, "yamahototogisu," is the cuckoo of the mountains, combined here with the iris grass of the preceding poems.
Third line, "kyō tote ya," means "because it is today," with the questioning particle "ya," which is resolved by the attributive "naku" in the final line.
Fourth line, "ayame no kusa no," repeats the phrase from 108 and 110 of this book and serves as an introduction leading to "ne" in the final line.
Final line, "ne ni tatete naku," is a pivot word in which "ne" means both the root of the iris and the sound of crying. At the festival, a contest comparing the length of iris roots was also held, and through that association root and voice echo each other. It closes with the attributive "naku" in response to "ya" in the third line.
- Author
- Emperor Daigo
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Kyō mireba tama no utena mo nakarikeri ayame no kusa no iori nomi shite
- Next Poem
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Ta ga sode ni omoi yosoete hototogisu hanatachibana no eda ni nakuran