Umegaka ni odorokaretsutsu haru no yo no yami koso hito wa akugarashikere - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

梅が香におどろかれつつ春の夜の
闇こそ人はあくがらしけれ

Roma-ji: Umegaka ni odorokaretsutsu haru no yo no yami koso hito wa akugarashikere
English Translation: By the scent of plum
waking time and time again,
on a night in spring
it is the darkness, above all,
that draws one's heart astray
Meaning: Woken again and again by the scent of plum, I find that it is the darkness of the spring night, above all, that draws one's heart out to wander.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems I 22

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
On a spring night, woken again and again by the scent of plum drifting out of the darkness, the poet's heart is drawn out of herself to wander. The thought that scent alone lures the heart all the more because nothing can be seen in the dark is stated forcefully with "yami koso," "the darkness above all."
The author, "Jōtōmon'in Izumi Shikibu," was Izumi Shikibu, daughter of Ōe no Masamune, governor of Echizen. A lady-in-waiting to Jōtōmon'in Fujiwara no Shōshi, consort of Emperor Ichijō, she is one of the foremost women poets of the Heian court, excelling in love poetry.
Like Ōshikōchi no Mitsune's Kokin Wakashū poem complaining that the spring night's darkness hides the plum's color but cannot hide its scent, it pairs the darkness of a spring night with the fragrance of plum.

First line, "umegaka ni": "by the scent of plum," giving the cause of "odorokare" in the second line.
Second line, "odorokaretsutsu": "odoroku" means to wake with a start, "re" is passive, and "tsutsu" shows repetition: "woken again and again."
Third line, "haru no yo no": modifies "yami" (darkness) in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "yami koso hito wa": "koso" links with the perfective "kere" in the last line, emphasizing "the darkness, and nothing else."
Fifth line, "akugarashikere": "akugarashi" is an adjective meaning "drawing the heart out to wander." In 26 of this book the plum scent itself "akugarete," wanders out beyond its hedge, so the one who wanders shifts from person to scent.
Author: Izumi Shikibu
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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