白雲と見ゆるにしるしみ吉野の
吉野の山の花盛りかも
吉野の山の花盛りかも
- Roma-ji
-
Shirakumo to miyuru ni shirushi Miyoshino no Yoshino no yama no hanazakari kamo
- English Translation
-
Seen as white clouds,
it is plain beyond all doubt:
in fair Yoshino
the mountains of Yoshino
must be in their fullest bloom.
- Meaning
- Seeing them like white clouds, I know it plainly: the mountains of fair Yoshino must be in full bloom.
- Commentary
-
Book One Spring Poems 22
Headnote: "Composed at the same poetry contest"
From the sight of the Yoshino hills looking like white clouds in the distance, the poet is certain that the blossoms are at their peak. The broad rhythm of repeating "Yoshino" conveys the expanse of hills in full flower.
"The same poetry contest" in the headnote refers to the contest at the house of Fujiwara no Morozane, as with the preceding poem. The poem was also chosen by Fujiwara no Teika for his Teika Hachidaishō.
The first line, "seen as white clouds," likens the mountain cherries to white clouds, the same image as "all for white clouds" in the fourth line of 18.
The second line, "it is plain," means it is clear from how it looks, "shirushi" being an adjective; the poem breaks here.
In the third line, "fair Yoshino," "mi" is an honorific prefix, repeated with "Yoshino" in the fourth line to shape the rhythm.
The fourth line, "the mountains of Yoshino," names the famous cherry hills; repeating the word from the third line makes the flowering mountains feel vast.
The last line, "must be in their fullest bloom," uses the exclamatory "kamo," picturing the full bloom with conviction.
- Author
- Oe no Masafusa
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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Asamadaki kasumi na kome so yamazakura tazuneyuku ma no yosome ni mo mimu
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Yamazakura oshimu ni tomaru mono naraba hana wa haru tomo kagirazaramashi