行く末のためしと今日を思ふとも
今幾年か人に語らむ
今幾年か人に語らむ
- Roma-ji
-
Yukusue no tameshi to kyō o omou tomo ima ikutose ka hito ni kataramu
- English Translation
-
Though I think of it
as a model for the years
that are yet to come,
how many more years will I
be here to tell it to men
- Meaning
- Though I think of today as an example for the years to come, how many more years will I have to tell others of it?
- Commentary
-
Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems I 519
Though he thinks of this splendid day as a model to be passed down to the future, the aged poet wonders how many more years he will have to tell others about it. Joy at having witnessed a fortunate occasion and sorrow at his few remaining years are held together in one poem. The next poem, 520, answers this one, and the two form an exchange. Since the final line of the next poem speaks of hana no miyuki, the poem appears to have been composed on the occasion of a retired emperor's blossom-viewing excursion.
The author, Eien, was a monk of Kōfukuji who rose to Acting Archbishop. A poem of his on the cuckoo won such renown that he was called the Archbishop of the First Song.
First line, 'yukusue no', means of the time to come.
Second line, 'tameshi to kyō o', means today as a precedent, tameshi being an example to be passed on to later generations.
Third line, 'omou tomo', means even though I think so, the particle tomo expressing a concessive supposition.
Fourth line, 'ima ikutose ka', means how many more years, the particle ka of question answered by kataramu in the final line. It carries the lament of an old man thinking of his few remaining years.
Final line, 'hito ni kataramu', means will I tell others, the attributive of the conjectural mu answering ka in the fourth line. The next poem answers by taking up this kataramu.
- Author
- Yoen
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Ueokishi kimi mo naki yo ni toshi hetaru hana wa waga mi no kokochi koso sure
- Next Poem
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Ikuchiyo mo kimi zo kataramu tsumoriite omoshirokarishi hana no miyuki o