夏来れば深草山の郭公
鳴く声しげくなりまさるなり
鳴く声しげくなりまさるなり
- Roma-ji
-
Natsu kureba fukakusayama no hototogisu naku koe shigeku narimasaru nari
- English Translation
-
When summer arrives,
on the hills of Fukakusa,
the cuckoo's
singing voice grows thick and dense,
ever more and more it seems.
- Meaning
- When summer comes, the voices of the cuckoos on Fukakusa's hills grow ever more frequent.
- Commentary
-
Book Two Summer Poems 123
Headnote: "The poetry contest of the Empress in the reign of Engi"
As summer deepens, the cuckoo's song on the hills of Fukakusa grows ever more frequent, the poet observes. Echoing the name "Fukakusa" (deep grass) with the word "shigeku" (thick, frequent), the poem captures the season's advance toward high summer in the density of the bird's song. According to the headnote, it was submitted to a poetry contest held for Empress Fujiwara no Onshi in the Engi era of Emperor Daigo.
First line, "natsu kureba," means "when summer comes," with "ba" expressing a habitual condition.
Second line, "fukakusayama no," refers to the hills of Fukakusa in Yamashiro Province. The name Fukakusa evokes deep, thick grass and is associated with "shigeku" in the fourth line.
Third line, "hototogisu," is the cuckoo singing on the hills of Fukakusa.
Fourth line, "naku koe shigeku," means "its singing grows frequent," with "shigeku" evoking the thickening of grass. The cuckoo lamented in 95 of this book for being slow to sing now sings in abundance, moving from an awaited voice to an overflowing one.
Final line, "narimasaru nari," means "it seems to grow more and more so," with the final "nari" as an auxiliary that infers from sound.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
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