春の夜は軒端の梅を漏る月の
光も薫る心地こそすれ
光も薫る心地こそすれ
- Roma-ji
-
Haru no yo wa nokiba no ume o moru tsuki no hikari mo kaoru kokochi koso sure
- English Translation
-
On a night in spring
the moonlight that filters through
the plum by the eaves
seems itself to carry
the fragrance of the blossoms
- Meaning
- On a spring night, even the moonlight filtering through the plum branches by the eaves seems to me to be fragrant.
- Commentary
-
Book One Spring Poems I 24
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
On a spring night, as moonlight filters through the plum branches by the eaves, the light itself seems fragrant, as though the scent of plum had passed into it. Blending moonlight seen by the eye with plum scent sensed by the nose, the poem evokes the lush, deep atmosphere of a spring night.
The author, "Master of the Empress Dowager's Household Toshinari," is Fujiwara no Shunzei (Toshinari), son of Provisional Middle Counselor Fujiwara no Toshitada, who served as Master of the Empress Dowager's Household. He is the compiler of this anthology, chosen at the command of Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa, and the father of Fujiwara no Teika.
First line, "haru no yo wa": sets the scene. The next poem, 25, begins with the same line, so poems on plum scent on spring nights stand together.
Second line, "nokiba no ume o": "nokiba" is the edge of the eaves. 29 in this book also speaks of "nokiba no ume."
Third line, "moru tsuki no": "moru" describes moonlight spilling through gaps in the plum branches.
Fourth line, "hikari mo kaoru": "mo" adds "not only the plum's scent but even the moonlight."
Fifth line, "kokochi koso sure": "koso" closes with the perfective "sure." 51 in this book ends with the same "kokochi koso sure."
- Author
- Fujiwara no Shunzei
- Source
- Senzai Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Sayo fukete kaze ya fukuramu hana no ka no niou kokochi no sora ni suru kana
- Next Poem
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Haru no yo wa fukimau kaze no utsuriga o ki goto ni ume to omoikeru kana