花ゆゑに知らぬ山路はなけれども
惑ふは春の心なりけり
惑ふは春の心なりけり
- Roma-ji
-
Hana yue ni shiranu yamaji wa nakeredomo madou wa haru no kokoro narikeri
- English Translation
-
Because of the blossoms
there's no mountain path
I do not know,
yet what wanders lost, I find,
is my heart in the spring
- Meaning
- Because of the blossoms, there is no mountain path I do not know; yet what loses its way, I find, is my own heart in spring.
- Commentary
-
Book One Spring Poems I 62
Headnote: "Composed as a poem on blossoms"
Composed on the topic "blossoms," this poem says that after years of roaming in search of the flowers there is no mountain path the poet does not know; yet what still goes astray is not his road but his heart, carried away by spring blossoms. Overlaying losing one's way with a troubled heart, it captures the restless mind of the blossom season.
The author, "the monk Dōin, lay name Atsuyori," is Fujiwara no Atsuyori, son of Fujiwara no Kiyotaka. He took holy orders under the name Dōin and is known for his deep devotion to poetry even in old age.
First line, "hana yue ni": "because of the blossoms." 49 in this book begins with the same line.
Second line, "shiranu yamaji wa": "mountain paths I do not know." Where 60 in this book entered "shiranu yamaji" seeking blossoms, this poem says that because of the blossoms there are no such paths, forming a pair.
Third line, "nakeredomo": "domo" is concessive, "though there are none."
Fourth line, "madou wa haru no": "madou" picks up the word from the preceding poem, 61, shifting from losing one's way to a heart in turmoil.
Fifth line, "kokoro narikeri": "narikeri" expresses realization. The next poem, 63, ends with the same "kokoro narikeri," continuing a run of poems on the workings of the heart around the blossoms.
- Author
- Dōin
- Source
- Senzai Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Kurehatenu kaesa wa okure yamazakura ta ga tame ni kite madou to ka shiru
- Next Poem
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Toshi o hete onaji sakura no hana no iro o somemasu mono wa kokoro narikeri