時鳥しのぶるころは山彦の
答ふる声もほのかにぞする
答ふる声もほのかにぞする
- Roma-ji
-
Hototogisu shinoburu koro wa yamabiko no kotauru koe mo honoka ni zo suru
- English Translation
-
In the season when
the cuckoo still hides its voice,
even the echo
answering from the mountain
sounds but faintly in the air
- Meaning
- In the season when the cuckoo still sings in a hushed voice, even the echo answering from the mountain sounds only faintly.
- Commentary
-
Book Three Summer Poems 150
Headnote: "Composed as a poem on the cuckoo"
Composed on the topic of "the cuckoo." In early summer, when the cuckoo still sings softly in its hushed voice, even the mountain echo that answers it is faint. The device lies in conveying how quiet the hushed song is indirectly, not through the cuckoo's voice itself but through the faintness of its echo.
The author, "Kamo no Shigeyasu," was the son of Kamo no Shigetsugu, chief priest of the Kamo Shrines. He served as chief priest of the Kamo Wakeikazuchi Shrine and took part in Shun'e's Karin'en. He is known for compiling the private anthology Tsukimōde Wakashū.
First line, "hototogisu": names the subject, the cuckoo.
Second line, "shinoburu koro wa": "shinobu" means to hush one's voice, referring to the cuckoo's subdued song in early summer.
Third line, "yamabiko no": the echo of a voice resounding in the mountains.
Fourth line, "kotauru koe mo": "even the voice that answers," the echo replying to the cuckoo.
Fifth line, "honoka ni zo suru": "zo" closes with the attributive "suru," showing the softness of the hushed song through the faintness of the echo. "Honoka ni mo naku" in 163 of this book also depicts the cuckoo's faint voice.
- Author
- Kamo no Shigeyasu
- Source
- Senzai Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Futakoe to kikade ya yamamu hototogisu matsu ni nenu yo no kazu wa tsumorite
- Next Poem
-
Ayashiki wa matsu hito kara ka hototogisu nakanu ni sae mo nururu sode kana