年ふれど春に知られぬ埋もれ木は
花の都に住む甲斐ぞなき
花の都に住む甲斐ぞなき
- Roma-ji
-
Toshi furedo haru ni shirarenu umoregi wa hana no miyako ni sumu kai zo naki
- English Translation
-
Though years go by,
I am a buried log
unknown to the spring,
and there is no worth in dwelling
in the capital of flowers
- Meaning
- Though the years pass, I am like a buried log that spring never notices, and there is no use in my living in this capital of flowers.
- Commentary
-
Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems I 525
Like a buried log that spring never notices however many years go by, the poet says, he gains nothing from living in the capital where flowers bloom. Likening spring to the season of advancement, he contrasts himself with the capital of flowers to lament the misfortune of remaining without promotion though the years pile up.
Like tani no umoregi in the final line of poem 523, two poems before, it uses the buried log to express one left behind in the season of blossoms. Where that poem set the cherries of Yoshino against a log in the valley, this one sets the capital of flowers against the buried log.
The author, Akinaka, is Fujiwara no Akinaka. A son of the Acting Middle Counselor Fujiwara no Sukenaka, he was also one of the poets of the Horikawa Hundred-Poem Sequences.
First line, 'toshi furedo', means though the years pass, using the concessive do.
Second line, 'haru ni shirarenu', means unknown to the spring, the passive ru followed by the attributive of the negative zu. Spring stands for the season of advancement.
Third line, 'umoregi wa', means I, a buried log, using the same umoregi as the final line of poem 523.
Fourth line, 'hana no miyako ni', means in the capital of flowers, the splendid city. It is tied to haru, spring, in the second line.
Final line, 'sumu kai zo naki', means there is no worth in living there, the particle zo answered by naki, the attributive of nashi.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Akinaka
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
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