風吹けば蓮の浮葉に玉こえて
涼しくなりぬ蜩の声
涼しくなりぬ蜩の声
- Roma-ji
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Kaze fukeba hasu no ukiha ni tama koete suzushiku narinu higurashi no koe
- English Translation
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When the wind blows by,
over the lotus's floating leaves
the jewels roll across,
and all has turned cool:
the voices of the evening cicadas
- Meaning
- When the wind blows, dewdrops roll like jewels across the floating lotus leaves, and the song of the evening cicadas has grown cool.
- Commentary
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Book Two Summer Poems 145
When the wind blows, jewel-like dewdrops roll across the floating lotus leaves, and even the cicadas' evening song begins to sound cool. Layering wind, dew and insect song, things seen and heard, the poem portrays the coolness of a summer evening.
Seeing dew on lotus leaves as jewels is a traditional conceit found in a poem by Archbishop Henjō in the Kokinshū; this poem captures it in motion, the drops rolling as the wind stirs the leaves.
The author, Toshiyori, is Minamoto no Toshiyori. A son of Minamoto no Tsunenobu, he compiled this anthology, the Kin'yōwakashū, at the command of Retired Emperor Shirakawa, and is known for his innovative style.
First line, 'kaze fukeba', means when the wind blows, ba after the realis form giving a definite condition.
Second line, 'hasu no ukiha ni', uses ukiha, leaves floating on the water.
Third line, 'tama koete', uses tama, jewels, for the dew on the leaves, depicting the drops rolling over the leaves in the wind.
Fourth line, 'suzushiku narinu', means it has grown cool; the perfective nu marks a break after the fourth line.
Final line, 'higurashi no koe', ends on a noun, naming last the thing that brings coolness. It stands in inversion with the fourth line, so that the cicadas' song itself may be read as having grown cool.
- Author
- Minamoto no Toshiyori
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
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