何事も変はりゆくめる世の中に
昔ながらの橋柱かな
昔ながらの橋柱かな
- Roma-ji
-
Nanigoto mo kawariyuku meru yo no naka ni mukashi nagara no hashibashira kana
- English Translation
-
In this world of ours
where all things seem to change
as the seasons pass,
how the pillars of Nagara
stand just as they did of old
- Meaning
- In this world, where everything seems to keep changing, the pillars of the Nagara Bridge stand just as they did of old.
- Commentary
-
Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1031
Headnote: "Composed near the Nagara Bridge"
This poem was composed near the Nagara Bridge. In a world where all things seem to change, how the pillars of Nagara stand as of old, he says. Moved that in a world where all things shift the pillars of the Nagara Bridge alone remain as they were, he lets "nagara" mean both "as of old" and the place name Nagara.
The author, "Priest Dōmyō," was a son of Fujiwara no Michitsuna. He served as superintendent of Tennōji and was known for the beauty of his voice in chanting sutras. He is one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals of the Middle Ages.
This is the second of the three poems on the Nagara Bridge. Where the preceding poem, 1030, says only the name remains, this one says the pillars remain as of old, and the next, 1032, says there is not even a trace. It also shares a changing world with "yo no naka no arishi ni mo arazu nariyukeba" in 1027.
First line, "nanigoto mo": "all things."
Second line, "kawariyuku meru": "meru" is the attributive of the conjectural "meri," "that seem to be changing."
Third line, "yo no naka ni": "in this world." It answers "yo no naka no" in the first line of 1027 of this book.
Fourth line, "mukashi nagara no": "nagara" is a pivot word meaning both "just as of old" and the place name Nagara. It answers "Nagara no hashi mo" in the fourth line of the preceding poem, 1030.
Fifth line, "hashibashira kana": "hashibashira" means bridge pillars, and "kana" is exclamatory, "how the pillars stand."
- Author
- Dōmyō
- Source
- Senzai Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Yukusue o omoeba kanashi Tsu no kuni no Nagara no hashi mo na wa nokorikeri
- Next Poem
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Kyō mireba Nagara no hashi wa ato mo nashi mukashi ariki to kikiwataredomo