水たまる池の堤のさし柳
この春雨に萌え出でにけり
この春雨に萌え出でにけり
- Roma-ji
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Mizu tamaru ike no tsutsumi no sashiyanagi kono harusame ni moeidenikeri
- English Translation
-
Where the waters pool
on the bank around the pond
the willow cutting—
in this gentle rain of spring
it has put out its first shoots.
- Meaning
- The willow cutting planted on the bank of the brimming pond has sprouted in this spring rain.
- Commentary
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Spring Poems 42
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Willows in the rain"
The poet rejoices that the willow cutting he planted on the bank of the pond has sprouted, moistened by spring rain. Singing of the homely discovery that a cutting has taken root and budded, in simple Man'yō-style words, he lets us feel the blessing of spring rain. Kamo no Mabuchi marked it with a circle.
One character in the last line of the base text is hard to read, so the common reading moeidenikeri has been adopted.
Line 1, "Where the waters pool," modifies the pond.
Line 2 names the embankment around the pond.
Line 3, sashiyanagi, is a willow grown from a cutting; the poem breaks here and the lower verse explains.
Line 4: kono ("this") points to the rain now falling, taking up the spring rain of the preceding poem, 41.
Line 5 expresses realization that the cutting has sprouted, delighting in the life the rain has brought.
- Author
- Minamoto no Sanetomo
- Source
- Kinkaishu
- Prev Poem
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Aoyagi no ito yori tsutau shiratsuyu o tama to miru made harusame zo furu
- Next Poem
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Asamidori somete kaketaru aoyagi no ito ni tama nuku harusame zo furu