須磨の浦に焼く塩釜の煙こそ
春に知られぬ霞なりけれ
春に知られぬ霞なりけれ
- Roma-ji
-
Suma no ura ni yaku shiogama no keburi koso haru ni shirarenu kasumi narikere
- English Translation
-
On Suma's seashore,
the smoke from the salt kilns burning
rising in a plume —
this, then, is a haze unknown
to the coming of the spring
- Meaning
- The smoke rising from the salt kilns on Suma's shore — that, I see, is a haze that spring itself knows nothing of.
- Commentary
-
Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems I 273
The poet likens the smoke rising from the salt kilns on Suma's shore to a haze that lingers all year with no regard for spring. Turning on its head the convention that haze belongs to spring, the wit of calling the seaside smoke "a haze unknown to spring" shows the author's characteristic freshness.
Taking up the spring haze of the preceding poem, 272, this poem shifts the conceit to a haze made of smoke rather than true haze.
The first line, "Suma no ura ni" (on Suma's shore), names a poetic place in Settsu Province known for salt-making.
The second line, "yaku shiogama no," refers to the kilns where seawater was boiled down for salt.
The third line, "keburi koso" (the smoke), singles out the kiln smoke with the emphatic "koso."
The fourth line, "haru ni shirarenu," combines the passive "ru" and the attributive negative: unknown to spring, that is, having nothing to do with spring.
The final line, "kasumi narikere," closes "koso" with the copula "nari" and the perfective form of the exclamatory "keri," a kakari-musubi realizing that the smoke is itself a haze.
- Author
- Minamoto no Toshiyori
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Harugasumi kasumeru kata ya Tsu no kuni no honomishimae no watari naruramu
- Next Poem
-
Namitateru matsu no shizue o kumode nite kasumiwatareru Ama no Hashidate