年を経て星をいただく黒髪の
人よりしもになりにけるかな
人よりしもになりにけるかな
- Roma-ji
-
Toshi o hete hoshi o itadaku kurokami no hito yori shimo ni narinikeru kana
- English Translation
-
Over many years
I have toiled beneath the stars,
yet my raven hair
has turned to frost, and I have
fallen lower than the rest
- Meaning
- For years I have toiled from before dawn till the stars came out, yet my black hair has turned to frost before others', and my rank has fallen below theirs.
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Miscellaneous Poems II 374
Though he has served from early morning till late at night under the stars, the poet laments, his black hair has turned white as frost and his rank remains below others'. "Hoshi o itadaku" (bearing the stars) expresses diligence, and "shimo" joins "frost" for white hair with "below" for low rank, conveying age and misfortune at once.
The first line, "toshi o hete," means over many years.
The second line, "hoshi o itadaku," refers to serving from early dawn till late night beneath the stars.
The third line, "kurokami no" (black hair), names the hair of youth, contrasted with the frost of the fourth line.
The fourth line, "hito yori shimo ni," is a pivot word joining "shimo" (frost) for white hair and "shimo" (below) for lower rank.
The final line, "narinikeru kana," combines the perfective "nu," the attributive exclamatory "keri," and "kana": so I have become.
- Author
- Onakatomi no Yoshinobu
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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