白雲と峰の桜は見ゆれども
月の光は隔てざりけり
月の光は隔てざりけり
- Roma-ji
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Shirakumo to mine no sakura wa miyuredomo tsuki no hikari wa hedatezarikeri
- English Translation
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Like white clouds they seem,
the cherries on the peak,
and yet, I find,
they do not keep away
the shining of the moon
- Meaning
- The cherries on the peak look just like white clouds, yet, I find, unlike clouds they do not shut out the light of the moon.
- Commentary
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Book One Spring Poems I 72
Headnote: "Composed when presenting a hundred-poem sequence"
Composed for a hundred-poem sequence presented to Retired Emperor Sutoku, this poem observes that the cherries on the peak look like white clouds, yet whereas real clouds would hide the moon, the cherries let its light through unhindered. Building on the familiar conceit of cherries as white clouds, it is a witty poem that finds a difference between cloud and blossom in the moonlight.
The author, "Taikenmon'in no Horikawa," was a daughter of Minamoto no Akinaka, head of the Department of Divinities. A lady-in-waiting to Taikenmon'in Fujiwara no Tamako, consort of Emperor Toba, she was one of the leading women poets of the cloistered-rule period. Her younger sister was Jōsaimon'in no Hyōe.
First line, "shirakumo to": "as white clouds," likening the cherries to clouds. It takes up the white-cloud comparisons of 69 and 70 in this book.
Second line, "mine no sakura wa": "the cherries on the peak."
Third line, "miyuredomo": "domo" is concessive, "though they appear so."
Fourth line, "tsuki no hikari wa": the moonlight that clouds would hide. The next poem, 73, likewise pairs blossoms with moonlight.
Fifth line, "hedatezarikeri": "zari" is the continuative of the negative "zu," and "keri" expresses realization: "they did not block it, I see."
- Author
- Taikenmon-in no Horikawa
- Source
- Senzai Wakashu
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