よろづよのためしと見ゆる花の色を
うつしとどめよ白河の水
うつしとどめよ白河の水
- Roma-ji
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Yorozuyo no tameshi to miyuru hana no iro o utsushitodomeyo shirakawa no mizu
- English Translation
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For ten thousand years
they seem a model to endure,
these blossoms' colors;
hold them fast in your mirror,
O waters of the Shirakawa
- Meaning
- Hold fast in your reflection the colors of these blossoms, which seem a model of ten thousand ages, O waters of the Shirakawa.
- Commentary
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Book One Spring Poems 33
The poet calls on the waters of the Shirakawa to hold forever the reflected colors of the flowers as a token of prosperity lasting ten thousand ages. Praising the blossoms' beauty, the poem also celebrates the long reign symbolized by the Shirakawa palace.
The author, Jōsaimon'in no Hyōe, is Hyōe, a daughter of Minamoto no Akinaka. A younger sister of Taikenmon'in no Horikawa, she was a poet and lady-in-waiting who served Taikenmon'in and later Jōsaimon'in.
First line, 'yorozuyo no', uses yorozuyo, endless ages, a word frequent in celebratory poems.
Second line, 'tameshi to miyuru', uses tameshi, model or precedent, something that stands as a pattern of long life and prosperity.
Third line, 'hana no iro o', names what is to be preserved.
Fourth line, 'utsushitodomeyo', means reflect and keep, commanding the water to hold forever the fleeting colors of the flowers.
Final line, 'shirakawa no mizu', ends by addressing the river. It echoes 'like the Shirakawa' in poem 31, adding another poem in praise of Shirakawa.
- Author
- Jōsaimon'in no Hyōe
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
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