昔見し垂井の水は変はらねど
映れる影ぞ年を経にける
映れる影ぞ年を経にける
- Roma-ji
-
Mukashi mishi Tarui no mizu wa kawaranedo utsureru kage zo toshi o henikeru
- English Translation
-
The waters of Tarui
that I looked upon of old
have not changed at all —
it is the face reflected there
that has aged with passing years
- Meaning
- The spring water of Tarui I saw long ago is unchanged; it is my reflection in it that has grown old with the years.
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Miscellaneous Poems II 390
Visiting the spring at Tarui in Mino after many years, the poet finds the water unchanged, while his reflection in it has grown old. Contrasting unchanging nature with an aging person, the poem expresses a keen sense of the passing years.
It treats, through his own reflection in water, the same theme as poem 290 of Book Nine, which said the moon in the pond was unchanged while the one gazing at it had changed.
The first line, "mukashi mishi," uses the attributive past "shi": that I once saw. Poem 350 of this book begins with the same line.
The second line, "Tarui no mizu wa," names the spring of Tarui, a poetic place in Mino Province.
The third line, "kawaranedo," combines the perfective of the negative and the concessive "do": though it is unchanged.
The fourth line, "utsureru kage zo," uses the attributive continuative "ri" for the figure reflected in the water, stressed with "zo."
The final line, "toshi o henikeru," closes "zo" with the perfective "nu" and attributive exclamatory "keri," a kakari-musubi: it has aged.
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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Kazakoshi no mine no ue nite miru toki wa kumo wa fumoto no mono ni zo arikeru
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Omoide mo naki furusato no yama naredo kakureyuku hata aware narikeri