桜花雲かかるまでかきつめて
吉野の山と今日は見るかな
吉野の山と今日は見るかな
- Roma-ji
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Sakurabana kumo kakaru made kakitsumete yoshino no yama to kyō wa miru kana
- English Translation
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Cherry blossom petals
heaped so high that clouds might cling,
gathered all in one,
as the mountain of Yoshino
I shall view them on this day
- Meaning
- Gathering the cherry petals into a heap so high that clouds might hang on it, today I look upon it as Mount Yoshino.
- Commentary
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Book One Spring Poems 65
The poet sweeps fallen cherry petals into a heap so high that clouds might cling to it and enjoys it as Mount Yoshino. It is a playful poem that imitates the famous cherry mountain with gathered blossoms.
First line, 'sakurabana', states the theme.
Second line, 'kumo kakaru made', means so high that clouds hang on it, a hyperbole.
Third line, 'kakitsumete', means raking them together.
Fourth line, 'yoshino no yama to', likens the heap to Mount Yoshino, sung in poem 52 and elsewhere, imitating it with gathered petals.
Final line, 'kyō wa miru kana', means today I see it so, ending with the exclamatory kana.
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
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