死にて伏さん苔の筵を思ふより
かねて知らるる岩陰の露
かねて知らるる岩陰の露
- Roma-ji
-
Shinite fusan koke no mushiro o omou yori kanete shiraruru iwakage no tsuyu
- English Translation
-
When I think upon
the mat of moss where I will
lie down when I'm dead,
I know it already, the
dew in the shadow of rocks.
- Meaning
- Thinking of the moss on which I will lie when I am dead, I already know its loneliness, the dew in the shadow of the rocks.
- Commentary
-
Miscellaneous Poems 850
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "From among the many poems on impermanence that I composed"
Thinking of the moss on which I will lie when dead, I already know what it will be like, by the dew in the shadow of the rocks, the poet says, laying his own afterlife in a mossy grave over the dew in the shadow of mountain rocks.
First line, “shinite fusan”: where I will lie dead; a line of six syllables.
Second line, “koke no mushiro o”: the moss likened to a straw mat, the place where he will lie after death.
Third line, “omou yori”: when I think of it.
Fourth line, “kanete shiraruru”: known in advance.
Fifth line, “iwakage no tsuyu”: ending on a noun, the fleeting dew in the shadow of rocks, which also hints at tears.
- Author
- Saigyō
- Source
- Sankashu
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