花さそふ嵐や峰をわたるらむ
桜なみよる谷川の水
桜なみよる谷川の水
- Roma-ji
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Hana sasou arashi ya mine o wataruramu sakura namiyoru tanigawa no mizu
- English Translation
-
The flower-luring gale,
is it crossing over the peaks
above us now?
Cherry petals ride the waves
on the water of the valley stream
- Meaning
- Is the gale that lures the blossoms away sweeping across the peaks? Cherry petals, lined up like waves, come drifting on the valley stream.
- Commentary
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Book One Spring Poems 57
Seeing cherry petals drifting like waves on the surface of a valley stream, the poet guesses that a gale is scattering the blossoms on the peaks. From the scene of the stream before him he imagines the unseen peaks.
First line, 'hana sasou', means luring the flowers away, personifying the gale.
Second line, 'arashi ya mine o', uses the questioning ya, which pairs with ramu in the third line.
Third line, 'wataruramu', means it must be sweeping across, and the poem breaks after the third line.
Fourth line, 'sakura namiyoru', contains namiyoru, a pivot word meaning both petals lining up and waves rolling in.
Final line, 'tanigawa no mizu', ends on a noun, bringing the gaze down from peak to valley.
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
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