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Kokinshu #384
Written when parting with someone near Mt. Otowa.
Crying so loudly
up high in a treetop
on Mt. Otowa --
it must be that this cuckoo
cannot bear parting from you.
otowayama
kodakaku nakite
hototogisu
kimi ga wakare o
oshimuberanari
---L.
Crying so loudly
up high in a treetop
on Mt. Otowa --
it must be that this cuckoo
cannot bear parting from you.
—29 April 2013
Original by Ki no Tsurayuki. A return of summer's cuckoo, and of the naku = sing/cry wordplay. For Otowa, see #142. Wordplays: Otowa's name includes oto = the "sound" of the bird, and -dakaku is both "loudly" crying and "high up" in the tree. That the bird "also" regrets the parting is to be understood. The sentiment may seem a little thin, but the sound is lovely and elegant.otowayama
kodakaku nakite
hototogisu
kimi ga wakare o
oshimuberanari
---L.