雪降りて今日とも知らぬ奥山に
炭焼く翁あはれはかなみ
炭焼く翁あはれはかなみ
- Roma-ji
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Yuki furite kyō tomo shiranu okuyama ni sumi yaku okina aware hakanami
- English Translation
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With the snow fallen,
not knowing what day it is,
deep in the mountains,
the old man who burns charcoal—
ah, how fleeting is his life!
- Meaning
- With the snow fallen, deep in the mountains where he does not even know what day it is, the old man burns his charcoal—ah, how fleeting it all is!
- Commentary
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Winter Poems 389
Headnote: "Charcoal kiln"
This poem was composed on the theme of the charcoal kiln. Deep in the mountains, where with the snow fallen he does not even know what day it is, an old man burns charcoal, and the poet sighs at how fleeting such a life is. He feels for the old man cut off from the world, no longer counting the days.
The Ruijū text gives the headnote as "A winter poem" and line 5 as aware hakanaki. This edition follows the source text.
Line 1 means "the snow having fallen."
Line 2 means "not knowing what day it is," living without marking the passing days.
Line 3 means "in the deep mountains far from any village."
Line 4 is the old man burning charcoal; the charcoal burner of the preceding poem is here pictured as an old man.
Line 5 means "ah, how fleeting," with mi added to the stem of hakanashi to voice a sigh.
- Author
- Minamoto no Sanetomo
- Source
- Kinkaishu
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