結ひ初むる初元結の濃紫
衣の色に移れとぞ思ふ
衣の色に移れとぞ思ふ
- Roma-ji
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Yuisomuru hatsumotoyui no komurasaki koromo no iro ni utsure to zo omou
- English Translation
-
The first hair cord tied
as he comes of age today,
of deepest purple—
may it pass into the hue
of the robes that he will wear.
- Meaning
- I hope the deep purple of the first hair cord tied at his coming of age will pass into the color of his robes.
- Commentary
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Book Five Celebration Poems 272
Headnote: "When Miyoshi no Suketada came of age and was first capped"
The poet hopes that the deep purple of the hair cord first tied at a coming of age will pass into the color of the youth's robes. Deep purple was the color of the robes worn by those of high rank, and the poem foretells the young man's rise to high office. According to the headnote, it was composed when Miyoshi no Suketada came of age and first donned the cap.
The author, written as Yoshinobu, is Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu. From the Ōnakatomi family, who served as chief priests of the Ise Shrine, he took part in compiling the Gosenshū and in reading the Man'yōshū as one of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber, and he is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
First line, "yuisomuru," means "first tied."
Second line, "hatsumotoyui no," means "of the first hair cord," the cord binding the hair for the first time at a coming of age.
Third line, "komurasaki," is deep purple, the color of the court robes of high-ranking nobles. Following the preceding poem, coming-of-age poems stand together.
Fourth line, "koromo no iro ni," means "into the color of the robes."
Final line, "utsure to zo omou," means "I hope it will pass into," with "zo" resolved by the attributive "omou." "Utsuru," color passing into cloth, is an associated word for purple.
- Author
- Onakatomi no Yoshinobu
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
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