Kokinshu #51
Sunday, 16 January 2011 09:02 (Topic unknown.)
O mountain cherries,
whenever I come see you,
the haze of springtime
on the slopes and on the peaks
rises up and conceals you.
yamazakura
wa ga mini-kureba
harugasumi
mine ni mo (w)o ni mo
tachi-kakushitsutsu
---L.
O mountain cherries,
whenever I come see you,
the haze of springtime
on the slopes and on the peaks
rises up and conceals you.
—8 November 2010
(Original author unknown.) Kureba can be read as both "when I come" and "because I come," and even when understood as the former, the latter connotation remains. The idea that the universe is out to get us personally, it is old. The "ever" part of "whenever" comes from the frequentive ending of the final verb.yamazakura
wa ga mini-kureba
harugasumi
mine ni mo (w)o ni mo
tachi-kakushitsutsu
---L.