Kokinshu #29
Monday, 29 November 2010 07:16![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lnhammer (Topic unknown.)
Thither and hither,
not knowing which way to go
deep in the mountains --
ah, how unreliable
the calls of the little birds!
ochikochi no
tazuki mo shiranu
yamanaka ni
obotsukanaku mo
yobukodori kana
---L.
Thither and hither,
not knowing which way to go
deep in the mountains --
ah, how unreliable
the calls of the little birds!
17 October 2010
(Original author unknown.) Yobukodori ("call-child-bird") is another uncertain bird, and like the momochidori (#28) it had several medieval identifications; it is now tentatively identified as either the cuckoo or White's thrush. Given the uncertainty (and that doing so works), the temptation of again reading it literally was too strong to resist. More puzzling is the ambiguity of whether bird or speaker is uncertain of the "direction" -- either presents difficulties of interpretation. Regardless, I'm rather fond of this one.ochikochi no
tazuki mo shiranu
yamanaka ni
obotsukanaku mo
yobukodori kana
---L.