並み立てる松の下枝を蜘蛛手にて
霞みわたれる天の橋立
霞みわたれる天の橋立
- Roma-ji
-
Namitateru matsu no shizue o kumode nite kasumiwatareru Ama no Hashidate
- English Translation
-
The pines standing in rows
spread out their lower branches
like a bridge's braces —
veiled in haze from end to end,
the Bridge of Heaven at Ama
- Meaning
- The pines standing in a row spread their lower branches like the braces of a bridge, and the whole length of Ama no Hashidate lies veiled in haze.
- Commentary
-
Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems I 274
The poet sings of Ama no Hashidate in Tango Province, likening the lower branches of its rows of pines to the spider-leg braces of a bridge. Bringing in "kumode," a part of a bridge, to suit the name "Hashidate" (standing bridge), the poem charmingly treats the hazy line of pines as if it were a real bridge.
Following the two preceding poems, it is another poem of haze; from the opening poem, 272, three famous waterside places veiled in haze are set side by side.
The first line, "namitateru," uses the attributive of the continuative "ri" to show pines standing in a row.
The second line, "matsu no shizue o," refers to the lower branches of the pines.
The third line, "kumode nite," means branching in all directions like a spider's legs; since the braces supporting a bridge's piers were also called kumode, it is an associated word with "Hashidate" in the final line.
The fourth line, "kasumiwatareru," uses the attributive of the continuative "ri" for haze spreading across the whole scene, taking up the haze of the two preceding poems.
The final line, "Ama no Hashidate," names a poetic place in Tango Province, ending with a noun that presents the whole view of the famous site.
- Author
- Minamoto no Toshiyori
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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Suma no ura ni yaku shiogama no keburi koso haru ni shirarenu kasumi narikere
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