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Kokinshu #23
Wednesday, 17 November 2010 07:05 Topic unknown.
The robe of mist that
spring puts on must be woven
of delicate threads,
for it is disorderd by
the barest of mountain winds.
haru no kiru
kasumi no koromo
nuki o osumi
yamakaze ni koso
midaruberanare
---L.
The robe of mist that
spring puts on must be woven
of delicate threads,
for it is disorderd by
the barest of mountain winds.
—27 September 2010
Original by Ariwara no Yukihira (818-893), older brother of Narihira and better known in his time for his poetry in Chinese. He was the host of the first known poetry contest, held in the mid-880s, and has four poems in the Kokinshu. Literally, only the weft is lightweight, but generalizing to the rest of the weaving sounds clearer to a modern reader. "Barest of" is also not literal, but diminution seems the best way to handle koso's emphasis on the wind's agency; even better in English would be "merest touch," but that introduces a new metaphor.haru no kiru
kasumi no koromo
nuki o osumi
yamakaze ni koso
midaruberanare
---L.