姫島の小松が末にゐる鶴の
千年経れども年老いずけり
千年経れども年老いずけり
- Roma-ji
-
Himeshima no komatsu ga ure ni iru tazu no chitose furedomo toshi oizukeri
- English Translation
-
On Himeshima
at the tips of the young pines
the cranes perch;
though a thousand years go by,
they never grow old.
- Meaning
- The cranes that perch on the tips of the young pines of Himeshima do not grow old, though a thousand years go by.
- Commentary
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Miscellaneous Poems 652
Headnote: "On the heart of celebration"
On the heart of celebration, the poet sings of cranes on the young pines of Himeshima that do not age though a thousand years pass, joining pine and crane, emblems of long life, in a blessing.
The Ruijū text places it in its section of celebration. Both the Jōkyō and Ruijū texts read line 5 as toshi oinikeri, and the Jōkyō text differs by one letter in line 4; here the source as displayed is followed.
Line 1 means "of Himeshima," in Settsu.
Line 2 means "on the tips of the young pines."
Line 3 means "the perching crane," the same line as line 3 of 621 of this book; it also leads to the opening "where the cranes dwell" of the next poems, 653 and 654.
Line 4 means "though a thousand years pass," cranes being said to live a thousand years.
Line 5 means "they do not grow old."
- Author
- Minamoto no Sanetomo
- Source
- Kinkaishu
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Kami to ii hotoke to iu mo yo no naka no hito no kokoro no hoka no mono ka wa
- Next Poem
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Tazu no iru Nagara no hama no hamakaze ni yorozuyo kakete nami zo yosunaru