梅の花匂ひを道のしるべにて
主も知らぬ宿に来にけり
主も知らぬ宿に来にけり
- Roma-ji
-
Ume no hana nioi o michi no shirube nite aruji mo shiranu yado ni kinikeri
- English Translation
-
The plum blossoms' scent
I took to be the guide
along my way,
and to a house whose master
I know not, I have come.
- Meaning
- Taking the scent of plum blossoms as my guide along the road, I find I have come to a house whose master I do not even know.
- Commentary
-
Book One Spring Poems 10
Walking where the scent of plum led, the poet finds himself at a stranger's house. The image of being guided by fragrance reveals a deep fondness for the plum.
The author is said to be Fujiwara no Kinyuki. Where the preceding poem wished for a breeze to carry the scent, here the poet follows the scent himself.
The first line, "the plum blossoms," is the same phrase as the preceding poem's third line, continuing the plum poems.
In the second line, "nioi" means scent, taking up the "ka" of the preceding poem.
The third line, "the guide," turns an invisible fragrance into a guide for the road, which is the poem's conceit.
The fourth line, "whose master I know not," shows that the poet came unthinkingly, drawn by the scent.
The last line, "I have come," is an exclamation of realization with "keri," expressing surprise at finding oneself there.
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Fukikureba ka o natsukashimi ume no hana chirasanu hodo no harukaze mo gana
- Next Poem
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Toritsunagu hito mo naki no no harukoma wa kasumi ni nomi ya tanabikaruramu