Kokinshu #62

Monday, 7 February 2011 07:00
lnhammer: the Chinese character for poetry, red on white background (Default)
[personal profile] lnhammer
Written when someone, after long absence, visited while the cherry blossoms bloomed.

    These cherry blossoms
that have a reputation
    for being fickle
wait even for those who rarely
visit the rest of the year.

—19 November 2010

Original author unknown, but either a woman or someone taking the poetic persona of a lonely lady. This (along with #63) appears in chapter 17 of Tales of Ise, where the author is given as an anonymous lady. Needless to say, the flowers are a metaphor for the speaker. The cherry blossoms could be address or unmarked subject, but as part of an exchange, the former reads just a little too archly.


ada nari to
na ni koso tatere
sakurabana
toshi ni marenaru
hito mo machikeri


---L.
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting

About

Warning: contents contain line-breaks.

As language practice, I like to translate poetry. My current project is Chinese, with practice focused on Tang Dynasty poetry. Previously this was classical Japanese, most recently working through the Kokinshu anthology (archived here). Suggestions, corrections, and questions always welcome.

There's also original pomes in the journal archives.

April 2025

S M T W T F S
  12345
678910 1112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930   

Style Credit

Powered by Dreamwidth Studios
Page generated Tuesday, 24 June 2025 05:15

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags