白河の流れ久しき宿なれば
花のにほひものどけかりけり
花のにほひものどけかりけり
- Roma-ji
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Shirakawa no nagare hisashiki yado nareba hana no nioi mo nodokekari keri
- English Translation
-
Like the Shirakawa,
whose stream has flowed for ages long,
is this dwelling place;
so the beauty of its blossoms
too is calm and full of peace
- Meaning
- Since this is a dwelling as long-lasting as the flowing Shirakawa, the beauty of its blossoms too is calm and serene.
- Commentary
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Book One Spring Poems 31
Likening the enduring flow of the Shirakawa to the long prosperity of the house, the poet praises even the blossoms there as tranquil. Shirakawa was the site of Retired Emperor Shirakawa's palace, and the poem seems to celebrate the long continuance of his reign.
First line, 'shirakawa no', is a place in Yamashiro, standing both for the flowing river and for the palace built there.
Second line, 'nagare hisashiki', means the stream flows on for ages, overlaid with the long continuance of the house and its fortunes.
Third line, 'yado nareba', means since it is a dwelling.
Fourth line, 'hana no nioi mo', uses nioi, here the beauty of the flowers' color.
Final line, 'nodokekari keri', means it was serene, praising the blossoms as an emblem of a peaceful age. Poem 33 also sings of 'the Shirakawa's water', and poems tied to Shirakawa continue.
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
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Fuku kaze mo hana no atari wa kokoro seyo kyō o ba tsune no haru to ya wa miru