Gosenshu 3
Gosen wakashu Volume 3: Spring 3 後撰和歌集巻第三 春下
81
贈太政大臣あひわかれてのち、ある所にてそのこゑをきゝて、つかはしける
After she had separated from the Posthumous Chancellor [Fujiwara no Tokihira], she heard that voice in a certain place and sent this.
藤原顕忠朝臣母
The mother of Fujiwara no Akitada
鶯のなくなる声は昔にてわが身ひとつのあらずもある哉
uguhisu no The warbler's naku naru kowe ha Crying voice is mukasi ni te Just as it was, waga mi hitotu no My self alone arazu mo aru kana Is no longer the same.
- That voice
- Tokihira's voice, which was apparently loud and distinctive, according to the Okagami. A few manuscripts read "The voice of a warbler" instead.
- Sent this
- Presumably to Tokihira. A few manuscripts omit this, making it a poem written privately.
--
The third volume starts with a private love (or parting) poem, with a general spring image of the warbler. The poem is clearly based on the famous KKS 747 by Narihira, also known from the Tales of Ise and the KKS preface:
- 月やあらぬ春や昔ならぬわが身ひとつはもとの身にして
- The moon and the spring are both the same as of old; how can I return my body to its old state...
The GSS poem states the idea more directly, without the や...ぬ structure or the implied ending.
82
さくらの花の、かめにさせりけるがちりけるを見て、中務につかはしける
He saw a cherry blossom he had put in a vase scatter, and sent this to Nakatsukasa.
つらゆき
[Ki no] Tsurayuki
ひさしかれあだにちるなとさくら花かめにさせれどうつろひにけり
hisasi-kare "Live long! ada ni tiru na to Do not scatter needlessly!" sakurabana So thinking, kame ni sasere-do I placed the cherry blossom in the vase, uturohi-ni-keri But it has faded.
- Nakatsukasa
- Ise's daughter, represented in the GSS by 7 poems.
--
A private exchange continues the volume 3 poems. The seasonal progression continues to inch towards falling cherry blossoms, here with a single blossom that has been placed in a vase and then scatters.
Kifune calls this a humorous poem. It can be read to criticize Nakatsukasa for having relations with other men.
This poem also appears in the SIS (poem 1054) without the response. The SIS version has a different preface, which matches the one from the Tsurayuki collection: "The daughter of His Highness of War Atsuyoshi, whose mother was Ise, lived close [to Tsurayuki], and he sent her a flower in a vase."
83
返し
Response
[Nakatsukasa]
千世ふべきかめにさせれど桜花とまらん事は常にやはあらぬ
tiyo hu-beki "I put it in kame ni sasere-do A vase to make it last a thousand reigns, sakurabana I will stop the cherry blossom!" tomara-n koto ha Is there any time tune ni ya ha ara-nu When you're not saying that?
- Thousand reigns
- This is a play on words reading kame as "turtle" rather than "vase"; the turtle was said to live a thousand years.
--
The translation above is based on Katagiri's interpretation, following the base text and all manuscripts of the GSS (although many of the non-Teika texts lack this poem). He interprets the koto here as "words". The version of this poem in the Tsurayuki Collection reads tomaranu instead of tomaran. Kifune and Kudo emend the base text following this reading, which results in the following translation: "You put it in the vase thinking it would last a thousand reigns, the cherry blossom: but when is it not true that we can't stop it from falling?"
84
題しらす
Topic Unknown
よみ人も
Also the poet
ちりぬべき花の限はおしなべていづれともなくおしき春哉
tiri-nu beki As long as the flowers hana no kagiri ha Are ones that will soon scatter, osinabete All of them, idure to mo naku Without picking any favorite, osiki haru kana I lament them all in spring.
--
This anonymous, public-style poem continues to move towards the imagery of falling cherry blossoms -- here they are still only hypothetical, and linked with all the other flowers that scatter as well. The poem captures the beauty of the flowers as well as the regret at their scattering.
85
朝忠朝臣となりに侍けるに、さくらのいたうちりければ、いひつかはしける
Lord Asatada lived next door, and when the cherry blossoms scattered profusely, she sent this
伊勢
Ise
かきこしにちりくる花を見るよりはねごめに風の吹もこさなん
kakikosi ni Rather than seeing tiri kuru hana wo The scattering petals coming miru yori ha Over the fence, negome ni kaze no I would have the tree, roots and all, huki mo kosa-nan Blown over here by the wind.
--
There have been many poems suggesting or looking forward to the scattering flowers. Just like the actual cherry blossoms scatter suddenly and completely, the image bursts into the poetry in this private poem. It is characteristic of the GSS that the image would first appear in this humorous, private poem. After this the scattering flowers alternate with other spring imagery, perhaps reflecting how the actual blossoms bloom and scatter unpredictably, at different times.
This poem appears in quite different forms in the Ise Collection and the Kokin waka rokujo.
In the Ise Collection the prose preface is simply "Sent after seeing the cherry blossoms next door."
- かきごしに見れどもあかず桜花ねながら風の吹きもこさなん
- I see the cherry blossoms over the fence and never get enough; I would have the tree, with its root, blown over here by the wind.
This is followed by a response:
- 桜花うゑて我のみ見んとかはとなりありきや人のするとて
- How could I have planted this cherry tree only to see it myself? [...]
The Kokin waka rokujo version is closer to the GSS:
- かきごしに見ればかひなし桜花ねごめに風は吹きもこさなん
- Seeing it over the fence is useless; I would have the tree, roots and all, blown over here by the wind.
Such extreme variation is unusual, but not unprecedented. negome (roots and all) seems to have been an unusual word perhaps from spoken vernacular, and the poem itself is humorous. Perhaps these are different variations that Ise herself wrote, or other people liked the concluding lines enough to write their own versions of the beginning.
Finally, the Shinsho sees this as an invitation poem for Asatada himself to come visit her.
86
女につかはしける
Sent to a woman
よみ人しらず
Poet unknown
春の日のながき思ひはわすれじを人の心に秋やたつらむ
haru no hi no I will not forget nagaki omohi ha The memories as long as the wasurezi wo Long nights of spring, hito no kokoro ni But your heart will surely aki ya tatu-ramu Grow tired as autumn comes.
- Nights of spring
- Spring nights, by poetic convention, are long, and autumn nights are short.
- Grow tired
- This is the familiar play on aki ("grow tired" and "autumn")
--
The next block of poems are on love themes, with general spring imagery. The use of the aki wordplay in a spring poem is unusual, and characteristic of the GSS that such a poem would appear in the spring seasonal volume. In fact, the image of spring nights is found in only one KKS poem (41), and here it's only used to support the main theme of the scent of plum blossoms.
Cranston calls this poem and the next one "marvelous".
87
題しらず
Topic unknown
[Poet unknown]
よそにても花見るごとにねをぞなくわが身にうとき春のつらさに
yoso ni te mo Even though they don't concern me, hana miru goto ni Every time I look at the flowers, ne wo zo naku I cry aloud. waga mi ni utoki The suffering in my body, haru no turasa ni Of the hateful spring.
--
This is another love-themed poem, though one in the KKS style of emotional expression without a specific addressee. The poem plays on the common notion that cherry blossoms represent faithlessness or flightiness because of how quickly they fall, and thus can symbolize an untrustworthy lover. The author is most likely a woman, although the Shinsho raises the possibility that this could be a poem bemoaning one's low social position. There are several examples of this kind of poem in the GSS, and spring was used as an image for one's political success.
The Unshu-bon text has a prose preface for this poem: "Otsubune was not visiting Emperor Yozei, but had shut herself up in her room, and when he said 'I miss you' this was written." Otsubune was a woman who appears as the author of 3 GSS poems. Here she explains her reasons for not visiting Yozei.
The sentiment is similar to a poem from the Ise Collection:
- もろともにありし昔を思ひいでて花見るごとに音をぞ泣かるれ
- I think of the times long ago we spent together, and every time I look at the flowers, I cry aloud.
88
貫之
[Ki no] Tsurayuki
風をだにまちてぞ花のちりなまし心づからにうつろふがうさ
kaze wo da ni For the wind, mati-te zo hana no At least wait, flowers, tiri-namasi Before you scatter. kokorodukara ni The annoyance of seeing uturohu ga usa You fade under your own power.
--
This is nominally a public, seasonal poem on falling flowers. The term uturohu (fade) has a secondary romantic meaning (of losing interest in a lover). This type of love subtext is found even in KKS seasonal poems, however.
KKS 85 by Fujiwara no Yoshikaze is the opposite of this poem:
- 春風は花のあたりをよきてふけ心づからやうつろふとみむ
- Spring wind, avoid the flowers when you blow. I would see them scatter on their own.
The Senshaku asks us to see the beauty of both the wind scattering the flowers and the flowers scattering on their own, and also think about the regret the poet has at the end of yet another year of flowers. The flowers, completely oblivious to how people feel, keep on falling.
89
あれたる所にすみける女、つれ／＼におもほえければ、庭にあるすみれの花をつみて、いひつかはしける
A woman who lived in a rundown house was bored, and so picked a violet and sent this with it.
よみ人しらず
Poet unknown
わがやどにすみれの花のおほかればきやどる人やあるとまつかな
waga yado ni In my garden sumire no hana no The violet flowers ohokare-ba Are numerous: ki-yadoru hito ya So they must be waiting, aru to matu kana Hoping someone will visit and stay.
- Rundown house
- This is a frequent image in poetry and tales to represent a woman forgotten by lovers.
- Sent this
- Who she sent this too is not clear, but this vagueness is typical of GSS anonymous love poetry. It suggests a poem tale without providing details. Some manuscripts read "sent to a neighbor", which Katagiri feels strengthens the romantic feeling. Kifune reads this as more of a poem between friends.
--
This is a private poem, although one with the type of love meaning that can be seen even in the KKS poems. The sumire (violet) is a rare poetic image, occurring only three times in the first eight Imperial collections. The poet may have had in mind MY 1428:
- 春の野にすみれつみにとこし我ぞ野をなつかしみ一夜ねにける
- I went to the field to pick the violet, and I spent a night there adoring the field.
90
題しらず
Topic Unknown
[Poet Unknown]
山高み霞をわけてちる花を雪とやよその人は見るらん
yama taka-mi The mountain is tall, kasumi wo wake-te So the falling flowers, tiru hana wo Piercing the mist, yuki to ya yoso no Must look like snow hito ha miru-ran To the people far away.
--
The falling flowers return, this time far away from the speaker. This poem combines two common images -- mist hiding the flowers, and flowers appearing as leaves.
Cranston describes this poem like a "purely scenic passage in a scroll painting", with a "breathing space" (presumably the wo particle).
91
[Topic unknown]
[Poet unknown]
吹風のさそふ物とはしりながらちりぬる花のしひてこひしき
huku kaze no They are invited sasohu mono to ha By the blowing wind -- siri-nagara This I know, and yet, tiri-nuru hana no I still feel longing sihi-te kohisiki For the flowers that have fallen.
--
Here we encounter the fallen flowers for the first time, in an anonymous poem. But as is typical for the GSS style, there is a feeling of love around the poem as well -- regret for a woman that the poet was unable to have for himself. The Kudaisho interprets this as the poet wanting to find a place where the flowers have not yet fallen, but this doesn't seem a central theme of the poem.
A poem from the Shinsen Man'yoshu is similar in feeling:
- 待てといふにとまらぬものと知りながらしひて恋しき春の別れかな
- Even though I know it's something that won't stay if I cry "Wait!", I still feel longing: the parting of spring.
92
きよはらのふかやぶ
Kiyohara no Fukayabu
うちはへてはるはさばかりのどけきを花の心やなにいそぐらん
utihahete In general haru ha sabakari Spring is fairly nodokeki wo Calm, but hana no kokoro ya The hearts of the flowers: nani isogu-ran Why do they hurry so?
--
A public style poem on the falling flowers. The feeling is the same as the famous KKS 84 by Ki no Tomonori:
- 久方の光のどけき春の日にしづこころなく花のちるらむ
- On a spring day with calm light, the flowers are falling with an anxious heart.
The GSS poem personifies both the spring and the flowers in opposition to each other.
Shunzei includes this poem in the Korai futeisho, without comment.
93
つねにせうそこつかはしける女ともだちのもとより、さくらの花のおもしろかりけるををりて、「これそこの花に見くらべよ」とありければ
From a woman friend who she often exchanged letters with, there was [a letter] saying "Compare this with your flowers" and a pretty looking cherry blossom she had broken off.
こわかぎみ
Kowakagimi
わがやどの歎ははるもしらなくに何にか花をくらべても見む
waga yado no The abandoned trees of my garden nageki ha haru mo They do not know the spring sira-naku ni Neither do my laments: nani ni ka hana wo So how can I possibly kurabe-te mo mi-mu Compare them with these flowers?
ちゝのみこの心ざせるやうにもあらで、つねに物思ひける人にてなんありける
She did not turn out as her father had hoped, and was always worrying.
- Kowakagimi
- This simply means "Young princess". Teika's annotations identify this as the daughter of Prince Koretaka (844-897), and modern commentators repeat this information. However, there's nothing in the text that supports this, and kowakagimi does not appear as an author in any other poem. I suggest that this should be taken rather as a generic character in a poem tale.
- Abandoned trees
- The word nageki is often used in love poetry to play on "lament" and "trees thrown away for firewood". It is then usually connected with other nature imagery. See Gosenshu_2#65.
- She did not turn out
- It's also possible to read this as referring to the father.
--
This poem, a regret or love poem on flowers, is one of the most "poem-tale" like of the GSS. The poem is followed by a short prose ending of the type usually found in the Ise Stories and other poem tales. Given this, I am hesitant to support the traditional attribution of the poem to Koretaka's daughter. Kowakagimi is a common noun referring to any daughter of a prince or high ranking figure, and is more easily read as the fictional "heroine" of this poem tale. It's true that normally in an imperial collection, the author would be given as "author unknown" rather than a common noun. But there are other examples in the GSS of poems attributed to anonymous figures like "the mother" or "the daughter". If this were referring to a specific person, it would be more normal for an Imperial collection to label her as "Prince Koretaka's Daughter".
94
春の池のほとりにて
Near a spring pond
よみ人しらず
Poet unknown
はるの日の影そふ池のかゞみには柳のまゆぞまづは見えける
haru no hi no In the mirror kage sohu ike no Of the pond shining with the light kagami ni ha Of a spring day, yanagi no mayu zo First we see the eyebrows madu ha mie-keru Of the willow tree.
- Eyebrows
- The Ogisho notes that this image is due to the appearance of the willow fronds, and appears in Chinese poetry (such as the Chogonka of Bai Juyi).
--
This is apparently an occasional public poem. This section of the spring volume seems to involve a lot of miscellaneous spring imagery -- we have already encountered the pond in 11, and the willow in 41. "Spring pond" is not an image that appears in the KKS.
The metaphorical image is of a beautiful woman using a mirror to examine her face -- kage, sohu, mayu, and mie are all poetic associations with "mirror".
The association of willows with eyebrows also appears in MY 4192, and 1857:
- 梅の花とりもみれれば我が宿の柳のまゆしおもほゆるかも
- [translation]
95
はるのくれに、かれこれ花をしみける所にて
On a spring night, when they were lamenting various flowers
かくながらちらで世をやはつくしてぬ花のときはもありと見るべく
kaku nagara Just like this chira-de yo wo ya ha Can the world possibly end tukusi-te-nu Without them scattering? hana no tokiha mo I wish we could see ari to miru-beku Evergreen flowers.
- Spring night
- This could also mean "At the end of spring," but given the poem's position in the collection, the "spring night" reading makes more sense.
- End
- The base text and most manuscripts read tukusi-te-nu, while some manuscripts read tukusi-te-n. Kifune and Katagiri both emend the base text, with Katagiri noting that a verb plus te-nu does not occur in other places. The nu would mean "completely end" or "ended", while the n would create a hypothetical -- the meaning is roughly the same in both cases.
--
This poem, another occasional public one, returns to the theme of falling flowers. 95 and 96 are both poems on flowers composed in gatherings. The word "evergreen" (tokiha) is mostly associated with pine trees, and the thrust of this poem comes from the contradiction between the quickly scattering flowers and the evergreen pines.
96
延喜御時、殿上のをのこどものなかにめしあげられて、をの／＼かざしさし侍けるついでに
In the Engi period, he was called among the upper nobles, and [read this] on the occasion of them putting [flowers] in their hair
凡河内躬恒
Okochi no Mitsune
かざせども老もかくれぬこの春ぞ花のおもてはふせつべらなる
kazase-domo Though I place the flowers, oi mo kakure-nu It doesn't hide my age. kono haru zo This spring hana no omote ha I seem to have only huse-tu beranaru Shamed the flowers.
- Called
- Mitsune was not of the denjo rank (those who could ascend the steps). He may have been called in recognition of his poetic ability, or perhaps he was performing some more menial task like serving food (Kifune).
- Flowers in their hair
- This was done to invite long life and health.
--
This is a public, occasional poem that was presumably actually read in public on the specific situation. Once again we see in the GSS poems alternate on scattering flowers and flowers still present -- this perhaps mirrors the real life situation where flowers in different places scatter at different times, or how the blooming and scattering of the cherry blossoms does not always happen at the same time.
The poem playfully pushes back on the idea that these flowers invite long life. It may also be a humble poem expressing his thanks at being invited to the gathering (by suggesting that his presence is shaming the higher ranking members). Kudo thinks this might be a poem of complaint about being passed over in a promotion, but would that really be an appropriate poem for this context, perhaps in the presence of the Emperor himself?
The idea of concealing one's age with flowers also appears in KKS 36:
- 鶯の笠に縫ふてふ梅花折りてかざさむ老いかくるやと
- I shall break off a plum branch, which they say the warblers weave into their hats, and hide my aged body.
97
題しらず
Topic unknown
よみ人も
Poet unknown
ひとゝせにかさなる春のあらばこそふたゝび花を見むとたのまめ
hitotose ni In one year kasanaru haru no If only multiple springs araba koso Were there, hutatabi hana wo We could hope to see mi-mu to tanoma-me The flowers once again, but...
--
This anonymous poem is on the subject of the flowers again, suggesting falling flowers. It comes in the midst of 3 poems on public gatherings viewing flowers, and perhaps the compilers viewed this as a poem that could have been composed in a similar situation.
There is most likely a numerical trick in the poem, with hito (one) and huta (two), followed by the mi of mi-mu suggesting "three".
KKS 131, by Okikaze:
- 声たえず鳴けや鶯一年にふたたびとだに来べき春かは
- Cry with all your voice, warbler! Even though in one year spring cannot come twice.
98
花のもとにて、かれこれ「ほどもなく散ること」など申しけるついでに
Under the flowers, various people were saying "They'll fall very soon", and based on this:
つらゆき
[Ki no] Tsurayuki
春くればさくてふことをぬれぎぬにきする許の花にぞありける
haru kure-ba "When spring comes, saku tehu koto wo They bloom", or so they say: nureginu ni Like wearing kisuru bakari no A drenched robe, so do I see hana ni zo ari-keru The flowers now!
- Drenched robe
- The Yakumo misho defines this as a symbol of faithlessness or unreliability, and it seems to be used this way in love poetry, such as GSS 1120.
--
This is another public, occasional poem composed during a gathering of people to view the cherry blossoms. The image is somewhat vague but seems to mean that the flowers fall so quickly it's like they were never there.
99
春花見にいてたりけるに、文をつかはしたりける。その返事もなかりければ、あくる明日、「昨日の返事」とこひにまうできたりければ、言ひつかはしたりける
When he went to view the flowers, he sent a letter. There was no answer, and so the next morning, he visited and asked for a response to yesterday's letter, so she sent this out.
よみ人しらず
Poet unknown
春霞たちながら見し花ゆゑにふみとめてけるあとのくやしさ
harukasumi The spring mist rising, tati-nagara mi-si I stood and watched hana yuwe ni The flowers, and so, humi tome-te-keru I regret treading in the flowers, ato no kuyasi-sa As I regret taking your letters.
- Treading/letters
- humi is a play on "tread" and "letter". ato can also mean the writing on a letter, as well as "later".
--
This is a private love poem, and a poem-tale, on the subject of cherry blossoms. The author regrets walking amidst the flowers and trampling the dirt, and also regrets her contact with the man.
The prose preface has no subjects and thus is vague; Norinaga as usual rewrote it to make everything more explicit. But the ambiguity is common to many of these GSS anonymous poems, and it creates the feel of an intimate poem tale where we already know the people involved. The most ambiguous section is the first sentence; a number of alternate texts say that "he discovered [or "saw"] her" when out on a flower viewing. Once again I agree with Sato Takaakira that poems like this were intended for the readers to fill in the blanks and almost participate in creating their own tale.
This may have in fact happened at the time, for this poem appears in the Ise Collection as a response to the following poem:
- When the Emperor was out looking at things, he stopped at a vine-covered house, and took some of the flowers and wrote this.
- 梅の花かたにのこらずなりにけり匂てだにやをしまざりつる
- I see there are only a few plum blossoms left. I was not even able to regret their scent.
On the other hand, the Ise Collection poem may be the original, and the GSS version an invented tale.
100
男のもとより、たのめをこせて侍りければ
From a man, she got a note saying to trust him.
[Poet unknown]
はる日さす藤のうらばのうらとけて君しおもはゞ我もたのまむ
haru hi sasu The sunlight hits fudi no uraba no The bottom leaves of the wisteria, uratoke-te They open up, kimi si omoha-ba If you just think of me, ware mo tanoma-mu I will rely on you too.
- Wisteria
- The spring imagery of the first two lines acts as a preface for uratoke-te, evoking both the opening of the leaves and the opening of the lover's heart.
--
This is a private love poem, on wisteria.
Chapter 33 of the Tale of Genji is called Fuji no uraba after this poem. To no Chujo murmurs the second line in Yugiri's hearing, indicating his eventual acceptance of the marriage between Yugiri and his daughter Kumoi no Kari. To no Chujo is suggesting that he is reading this in his daughter's place.
101
題しらず
Circumstance unknown
伊勢
Ise
鶯の身をあひかへばちるまでもわが物にして花は見てまし
uguhisu no If I could change mi wo ahi-kahe-ba My body for that of the warbler, tiru made mo Until they scattered waga mono ni site I would make them my own, hana ha mi-te-masi And would look at the flowers.
--
This poem could have gone with the earlier warbler and plum poems. The GSS compilers instead placed it in the cherry blossom section, perhaps because the emphasis is on the regret of the falling flowers. This theme appears more with cherry blossoms than with plums. On the other hand, a similar poem by Tsurayuki appears as KKS 128, when he heard the voice of a warbler after not hearing it for quite some time.
- 鳴きとむる花しなければ鶯も果てはもの憂くなりぬべらなり
- Flowers are not something that can be stopped by crying, so that must be why the warbler sorrows until the end.
Ise's poem takes the more positive side of what could be the same situation.
102
元良親王、兼茂朝臣の娘に住み侍りけるを、法皇のめして、かの院にさぶらひければ、えあふことも侍らざりければ、あくる年の春、桜の枝にさして、かの曹司（ざうし）にさしをかせ侍りける
Prince Motoyoshi had a relationship with Lord Kaneshige's daughter, but she was called into service by His Cloistered Eminence [Emperor Uda], and was no longer able to meet her. So the spring of the next year, he took a branch of cherry blossom, and passed it to her chamber.
もとよしのみこ
Prince Motoyoshi
花の色は昔ながらに見し人の心のみこそうつろひにけれ
hana no iro ha The flower's color mukasi-nagara ni Is just that of long ago, mi-si hito no Only the heart kokoro nomi koso Of her that I saw before, uturohi-ni-kere Has changed and faded.
--
This is a private love poem, on the topic of cherry blossoms. Motoyoshi seems to have had relationships with several women in Uda's service (see also poem 960).
The idea of nature staying the same while people change goes back to Chinese poetry and occurs in many Japanese poems as well; the closest analogue to this poem is probably KKS 747 (see the commentary on poem 81 above). Also see KKS 797, given in the commentary on poem 21).
103
月のおもしろかりける夜、花を見て
On a night with a beautiful moon, he looked at flowers.
源さねあきら
Minamoto no Saneakira
あたら夜の月と花とをおなじくはあはれしれらん人に見せばや
atara yo no How wasteful, tuki to hana to wo The moon and flowers together, onaziku ha If it's all the same, ahare sire-ran I would like to show this hito ni mise-ba ya To someone who would appreciate the pathos.
- He looked at flowers
- Some manuscripts read "He looked at cherry blossoms", although the cherry blossoms are suggested by the placement of the poem.
--
This is an occasional poem, read apparently by the poet alone. It could be used either as a public-style poem to show others, or as a private poem inviting someone to see the blossoms. The Kansho suggests that the idea of longing for one's lover on seeing the moon and flowers comes from a line of Bai Juyi's.
In the Saneakira Collection, this poem is sent to a woman who Saneakira was unable to meet. She responds with KKS 38 by Tomonori:
- きみならで誰にか見せむ梅花色をも香をもしる人ぞしる
- If not you then who would I show them to, the plum blossoms? You are one who knows the color and the scent.
If this poetic exchange actually happened, the woman is quoting an old poem appropriate for the situation -- Katagiri indicates this was standard procedure at the time (Kokin wakashu zenhyoshaku, 1.465).
Shunzei selected this poem as one of seven from this volume in his Korai futeisho.
In the Tale of Genji, the "Akashi" chapter, the Akashi Novice quotes the first line of this poem to invite Genji into a relationship with his daughter. In "Tenarai," the nun uses the poem to encourage the Captain after Ukifune has rejected him. In the "Suzumushi" chapter, Emperor Reizei quotes the third line of the poem to invite Genji (his father) to a party. These uses of the poem show that it could be interpreted even at the time as a romantic poem, or an invitation to a friend.
104
あがたの井戸といふ家より、藤原治方につかはしける
From a house called Agata Well, she sent this to Fujiwara no Harukata.
橘のきむひらが女
Tachibana no Kinhira's daughter
宮こ人きてもをらなんかはづなくあがたのゐどの山吹の花
miyakobito Man from the capital, ki-te mo wora-nan I would have you come and pick them -- kahadu naku Where frogs croak, agata no wido no At Agata well, yamabuki no hana The yamabuki flowers.
- Agata Well
- This refers to a house in the northwest of the capital. According to Tales of Yamato 111, Kinhira's three daughters all lived here.
- Man from the capital
- Because agata means "province", this plays on the name of their house by pretending they live in the provinces. Perhaps this also suggests the woman's low position with respect to Harukata (or at least acts in a humble manner by pretending that to be the case).
--
This is a private love poem. The yamabuki are a late spring image in the KKS, appearing in poems 121-125. Poem 125 also associates them with frogs:
- 蛙なく井手の山吹散りにけり花のさかりに逢はましものを
- The yamabuki flowers at Ide Mountain where the frogs croak have scattered. Though I wanted to meet you when they were blooming...
Shunzei included this as one of seven poems from this volume in the Korai futeisho, and Teika selected it for his Shuka daitai.
105
助信が母身まかりてのち、かの家に敦忠朝臣のまかり通ひけるに、桜の花の散りけるおりにまかりて、木のもとに侍りければ、家の人の言ひいだしける
After Sukenobu's mother died, Lord Atsutada was visiting that house, and on the occasion of falling cherry blossoms he visited, and stood under the tree, so the people of the house sent this out.
よみ人しらず
Poet unknown
今よりは風にまかせむ桜花ちるこのもとに君とまりけり
ima yori ha From now on kaze ni makase-mu I will leave it up to the wind. sakurabana Where the cherry blossoms tiru ko no moto ni Are falling, under that tree, kimi tomari-keri You seemed to have stopped.
- Sukenobu's mother
- This is one of Atsutada's wives; Sukenobu was his first born son. It was common to stop visiting a woman's house once she died.
- Under that three
- The word ko can also mean "child".
--
The next two poems are a private exchange, using the falling cherry blossoms in a sorrow poem. Tameie felt that the image of sorrow and death was inappropriate for the spring section of a collection even at the time.
Kifune calls it an excellent poem. His reading is that a wet nurse wrote the poem, encouraging Atsutada to continue to take care of his son even after his wife's death. The surface meaning is simply that because Atsutada is standing under the tree, they're willing to let the wind scatter the blossoms for his sake.
106
返し
Response
あつただの朝臣
Lord [Fujiwara no] Atsutada
風にしも何かまかせんさくら花匂あかぬにちるはうかりき
kaze ni si mo To the wind, nani ka makase-n Why should I leave it? sakurabana The cherry blossoms: niohi aka-nu ni I was not yet tired of their beauty, tiru ha ukari-ki And they scattered, leaving me suffering.
--
Atsutada's response turns the hopeful imagery of the initial poem into a poem of deep mourning for his wife. The pointed use of the past tense ki at the last line indicates that this feeling is for his wife's death. Kifune finds that the charm and beauty of the expression make the sorrow of the parting feel deep. Katagiri notes that the two poems create a little world (or perhaps a painting) where the women beckon to Atsutada from inside the house, while he stands in sorrow outside.
107
桜河といふ所ありと聞きて
He heard that there was a place called Cherry Blossom River
つらゆき
Tsurayuki
常よりも春べになればさくら河花の浪こそまなくよすらめ
tune yori mo Even more than usual harube ni nare-ba When it becomes spring sakuragawa Cherry Blossom River hana no nami koso It is the waves of flowers manaku yosu-rame That come without break.
- Cherry Blossom River
- According to the Yakumo misho and other old sources, this river was in Hitachi Province.
--
The assortment of cherry blossom poems continues, with a (probably) public poem. This is a humorous poem based on this place name, one that does not seem to have been common in poetry (it shows up in no other poem in the first eight collections).
The image of waves as flowers, particularly the white tops of the waves, is common. It occurs frequently in Japanese and Chinese poetry. The reverse, comparing flowers to waves, is less common. It is most often used with wisteria, as in KKS 120 and 135, and GSS 124 and 126. KKS 89, also by Tsurayuki, uses wave imagery with cherry blossoms:
- 桜花散りぬる風のなごりには水なき空に浪ぞたちける
- The wind, regretting scattering the cherry blossoms, has made waves rise up in the waterless sky.
108
前栽に山吹ある所にて
In a place where there were yamabuki flowers among the garden plants
かねすけの朝臣
Lord Kanesuke
わがきたるひとへ衣は山吹のやへの色にもおとらざりけり
waga kitaru The one-fold garment hitohegoromo ha That I am wearing yamabuki no Even to the color yahe no iro ni mo Of the eightfold yamabuki otora-zari-keri Does not pale in comparison.
--
The brilliance of the blooming yamabuki pairs with the previous poem about the blooming cherry blossoms. The interpretation of this poem varies.
Kigin simply writes "The meaning is clear," which means he interpreted the poem as having no hidden meaning; the poet is simply comparing the color of his clothing to the flowers. But with this interpretation the purpose of the clothing is difficult to understand, and why the poet would be extolling it over the flowers.
The Hyochu suggested that there might be a political meaning, and that the "one-fold garment" indicates a low rank. The Shinsho attributes that reaidng to Keichu and rejects it. Kato Isotari, in 1791, wrote to Motoori Norinaga to ask various questions about the GSS. He asked whether this poem had a political meaning. Norinaga said that was doubtful, and read it as a love poem instead.
The love reading is the one that seems to be the best. Shinsho, after rejecting the political meaning, explains that the hitohe (single fold) suggests also "single-minded heart". Kanesuke is likely wearing a robe that the woman gave him, and this is why he compares it favorably with the yamabuki flowers. Some alternate manuscripts of the GSS begin the prose preface with "At a person's house", and the poem in the Kanesuke Collection also indicates a visit to someone's house. The Collection also features a response from a women [look up later].
- 我が宿の八重山吹は一重だに散り残らなん春の形見に
- The eight-petal yamabuki in my garden, I hope that at least one petal remains, as a memento of spring. (SIS 72, poet unknown)
109
題しらず
Topic unknown
在原元方
Ariwara no Motokata
ひととせにふたたびさかぬ花なればむべちることを人はいひけり
hitotose ni In one year hutatabi saka-nu They don't bloom twice hana nare-ba The flowers, and so mube tiru koto wo Naturally people say hito ha ihi-keri This and that about their scattering.
--
The topic is unknown, but the poem suggests a public circumstance. In some ways it seems like the reverse of poem 97 above.
- 声絶えず鳴けや鶯ひととせにふたたびとだに来べく春かは
- Cry, warbler, with all your voice. Is this spring something that will come twice in one year? (KKS 131, Okikaze)
- 梅がえに降りつむ雪はひととせにふたたび咲ける花かとぞみる
- The snow falling on the plum branches looks like flowers have bloomed twice in one year. (SIS 256, Fujiwara no Kinto)
110
寛平御時、桜の花の宴ありけるに、雨のふり侍りければ
In the Kanpyo Era, there was a party for the cherry blossoms and it rained
藤原敏行朝臣
Lord Fujiwara no Toshiyuki
春さめの花の枝より流れこば猶こそぬれめかもやうつると
harusame no If the spring rain hana no eda yori From the flowering branches nagare ko-ba Cascades down, naho koso nure-me Then drench me completely! ka mo ya uturu to Perhaps the scent will transfer.
--
This is another public poem, perhaps composed by Toshiyuki when the rain forced a break in the festivities. Poem 56 has a similar theme.
111
和泉（いづみ）の国にまかりけるに、海のつらにて
On the way to Izumi Province, near the sea
よみ人しらず
Poet unknown
はる深き色にもあるかな住の江のそこも緑に見ゆるはま松
haru fuka-ki This is indeed iro ni mo aru kana The deep spring color! sumi no e no At Sumi Bay soko mo midori ni In the depths of the water miyuru hamamatu We see the green of beach pines.
- Izumi Province
- Modern-day south Osaka.
- Sumi Bay
- This is an older name for Sumiyoshi, which is along the way to Izumi.
--
This is a public, occasional poem on pines. Pines have showed up sporadically in the spring volumes of the GSS, but not as a major theme. This poem is reminiscent of MY-style travel poetry and also looks forward to the travel poetry of later collections -- the KKS represents travel poetry only by a few token poems, mostly about the sorrow of being parted from the capital or loved ones. The placement of the poem is doubtless influenced by the first line, which plays on both the depth of spring and the depth of the pines' green color.
Sumiyoshi is associated with pine trees in other court poetry, but not as a spring theme. KKS does have poetry on the color of pines, such as KKS 24 by Minamoto no Muneyuki:
- ときはなる松の緑も春くれば今ひとしほの色まさりけり
- When spring comes, the green of the evergreen pines is even a step deeper.
The reflection of plants in the water is a relatively common theme [find examples].
112
女ども、「花見む」とて野辺に出でて
Women said "We will go see the flowers" and left for the field
典侍よるかの朝臣
Lady Handmaid Yoruka
春くれば花見にと思心こそのべの霞とともにたちけれ
haru kure-ba When spring comes hanami ni to omohu Thinking "Let's go see the flowers" kokoro koso It is the heart nobe no kasumi to That with the mist of the fields tomo ni tati-kere Rises and goes forth.
--
We return to the theme of flower viewing, perhaps linked to the previous poem by travel. The nature of this poem is not clear; it could be addressed to the women who are leaving, but it might simply be an occasional public-style poem on the occurrence.
Spring mist is not associated with any particular time in spring, and so in both the KKS and GSS it occurs throughout the spring volumes. Yoruka's poem makes a delightful comparison between the rising of the mist and the rising interest in flowering viewing, and may also carry the idea that she wants to hurry away to the flower viewing.
Shin shui wakashu 2 may build on this poem:
- 天の戸のあくるをみれば春はけふ霞とともに立つにぞ有りける
- When I look at the door of heaven opening, spring today is rising with the mist.
113
相知れりける人の、久しう訪はざりければ、花ざかりにつかはしける
A person she had been seeing had not visited for a long while, so she sent this when the flowers were in full bloom.
よみ人しらず
Poet unknown
我をこそとふにうからめ春霞花につけてもたちよらぬかな
ware wo koso It seems to be me tohu ni uka-rame That you don't visit out of hate, harukasumi Spring mist: hana ni tukete mo Even to see the flowers tati-yora-nu kana You don't rise up and visit!
--
113-117 are all private poems about flower viewing. This one is a romantic exchange. The poet personifies the spring mist, which is often said to obscure flowers, and may also be a symbol of a faithless man (Kifune). She hopes that the man will at least come and see the flowers, if not her.
This poem may be based on several previous poems:
- 我こそはにくくもあらね我が宿の花橘を見にはこじとや
- It seems to be me that you hate; you don't even come to see the orange blossoms of my garden. (MY 10, 1990)
- 我こそはにくくもあらめ我が宿の花見にとだに君がきまさぬ
- It seems to be me that you hate; you don't even come to view the flowers. (SIS 1261, Ise)
In contrast to the simple expression of both those poems, the woman here uses the spring mist "rising" (tatu) to play on the visit of the man.
114
返し
Response
源清蔭朝臣
Lord Minamoto no Kiyokage
たちよらぬ春の霞をたのまれよ花のあたりと見ればなるらん
tati-yora-nu The spring mist haru no kasumi wo Not rising to visit tanoma-re yo Rely on it! hana no atari to It seems to have seen mire-ba naru-ran That it was a place of flowers.
--
The response uses the imagery of the first poem but is difficult to understand. The surface meaning seems to be "Trust that the mist is not rising because it sees that there are beautiful flowers growing and doesn't want to obscure them." The second meaning would be "Trust that I am not visiting because you are simply too beautiful and I don't want to shame you."
The Shinshō interprets this as a mild rebuke of the woman for not thinking of him, but also that tati suggests na wo tatu (rumors starting). Kifune describes it as a humorous apology for not visiting, and interprets poem 112 as a potential beginning for this small love story.
115
山桜を折りて送り侍りとて
She picked a mountain cherry and sent it.
伊勢
Ise
君見よと尋ねてをれる山ざくらふりにし色と思はざらなん
kimi miyo to "Look at it!" I thought, tadune-te wore-ru Seeking it and picking a branch, yamazakura The mountain cherry: huri ni si iro to I would not have you think that omoha-zara-nan The color is old and wan.
--
A private poem to an unspecified person, on mountain cherry blossoms. These bloom later than those in the capital and so are still flowering when the capital flowers have all fallen (Kifune). They have a lighter color than the ones in the capital. Ise reminds the addressee that she took all the trouble to pick these, so they shouldn't complain about the color. Mountain cherries appear in other Imperial collections, but the typical image is seeing them from far off and confusing them for mist or snow. The GSIS perhaps builds on this poem with a string of mountain cherry poems that involve seeking them out.
Kifune suggests that this might have a metaphorical meaning for Ise herself, perhaps influenced by the famous Komachi poem.
116
宮づかへしける女の、石上（いそのかみ）といふ所に住みて都の友だちのもとにつかはしける
A woman who had been in palace service was living in a place called Iso no Kami, and sent this to her friend in the capital.
よみ人しらず
Poet unknown
神さびてふりにし里にすむ人は都ににほふ花をだに見ず
kamisabi-te For the one dwelling huri ni si sato ni In the divine village sumu hito ha Now grown old, miyako ni nihohu The flowers blooming in the capital, hana wo da ni mizu Even those she cannot see.
- Divine village
- This is a reference to 布留(huru) where the Isonokami shrine was. Because of this it is used to lead into huri (grown old).
--
This is a private poem sent back to the capital, similar to the previous poem. As with Ise's poem, it unfavorably contrasts the countryside with the capital. The word nihohu refers not only to the beauty of the flowers, but perhaps to the splendor of the capital as a whole. The "old" may also refer to the poet herself -- we don't know why she left palace service to go to Iso no Kami, but this surely would have been an unwelcome development in her life.
This poem occurs in the collection of Oe no Chisato (Kudai waka), on the Chinese line 不見洛陽花. It also appears in the Akahito collection with no preface; like the Hitomaro collection, the Akahito collection contains many apocryphal poems and others that date from a later period than Akahito himself. Fujiwara no Teika apparently accepted the attribution because he included this poem in his Shinchoku senshu with Akahito as the author. But as the Hyochu notes, it doesn't appear in the MY and doesn't seem like a Nara-period poem. Kudo thinks that Chisato was the original author.
Perhaps Chisato's poem was turned into a small poem tale by someone who had KKS 870 in mind. Furu no Imamichi is the author, with the prose preface: "Isonokami Nanmatsu did not go into palace service, but was secluded in a place called Iso no Kami. He unexpectedly received a promotion to the 5th rank, and [Furu no Imamichi] sent him this in happiness."
- 日の光やぶし分かねば磯の神ふりにしさとに花も咲きけり
- The light of the sun does not discriminate against the overgrown village, and so even in the old village of Ishi no Kami, flowers are blooming.
The GSS poem is the reverse of this feeling.
117
法師にならむの心ありける人、大和にまかりて、ほど久しく侍りてのち、あひしりて侍りける人のもより、「月ごろはいかにぞ。花は咲きにたりや。」といひて侍りければ
Someone who had the intention of becoming a priest went to Yamato, and when a long time had pased, someone he had known sent to him "How has it been lately? Are the flowers blooming?"
み吉野の吉野の山の桜花白雲とのみ見えまがひつつ
miyosino no Yoshino Mountain yosino no yama no On Yoshino Mountain sakurabana The cherry blossoms sirakumo to nomi As white clouds I confuse them mie-magahi-tutu Seeing them again and again.
- Yoshino Mountain
- KKS 3 also has the doubled "miyosino no yosino no", perhaps to fill out the meter (although older commentaries were mixed on the significance of the doubling).
--
The poems on mountain cherries away from the capital continue, with a private poem. 117-119 all involve cherry blossoms being confused for clouds.
The poem is quite similar to KKS 60, by Ki no Tomonori. The poem was composed at the Kampyo Empress' Poetry Contest.
- み吉野の山辺に咲ける桜花雪かとのみぞあやまたれける
- The cherry blossoms that bloom on the mountain of Yoshino; I can only mistake them for snow.
The poem also appears in the Kokin waka rokujo with clouds instead of snow.
This may be another example of a slightly modified version of an earlier poem used in the composition of a poem tale. In this connection, Norinaga regarded the initial phrase about becoming a priest as irrelevant to the poem and recommended its removal. Kifune sees the final tutu (meaning "again and again") as expressing the surplus-feeling of one who has renounced the world, an interpretation that may be prefigured by the Kudai-sho commentary of the 15th century.
Katagiri has a different interpretation -- certain sources such as Tales of Ise 102 allude to or express the idea that sages who had renounced the world rode around on clouds. That could provide a further link to the preface.
118
亭子院歌合の歌
A poem from Emperor Uda's poetry contest
[Poet Unknown]
山ざくらさきぬる時は常よりも峯の白雲たちまさりけり
yamazakura The mountain cherries saki-nuru toki ha When they have bloomed, then even tune yori mo More than usual, mine no sirakumo The white clouds on the high peaks tati-masari-keri Seem to rise ever greater.
- Emperor Uda's poetry contest
- A contest help in 912 by (retired) Emperor Uda, who served as the judge. It was highly influential on later contests.
--
Another poem on mountain cherries confused for clouds; this is a rare example of an artificially composed public poem in the GSS. Depending on the text of the contest, this poem is attributed either to Ki no Tsurayuki or Fujiwara no Okikaze -- it appears in no existing versions of either of their poetry collections. Perhaps this uncertainty is why the GSS compilers left it with no attribution.
In the contest, this was matched against a poem by Mitsune:
- 咲きざらむものならなくに桜花おもかげにのみまだき見ゆらむ
- They are not something that doesn't bloom, the cherry blossoms: but we seem to quickly see them as only shadows.
Uda noted that Mitsune's poem uses the ramu suffix twice, and that the other poem uses "mountain" twice (once as "peak"). He awarded a tie.
Perhaps motivated by this judgment, this poem appears in a fair number of late-Heian poetic treatises as an example of a poem with a yamai (fault) of mentioning the same word or idea twice. Some of the treatises accept that this is a good poem but simply warn the reader not to do this in their own poetry. In 1085, Minamoto no Tsunenobu, judging a poetry contest, made a similar statement: he noted that the excellence of this poem did not mean a current poet could commit this fault in their own poetry (see the Fukurozoshi, NKT v2 p 138-139). Shunzei includes the poem in his Korai futeisho without comment, indicating that he also found the poem good.
- 桜花咲きにけらしもあしひきの山の峡よりみゆる白雲
- The cherry blossoms seem to have bloomed! The white clouds, seen from the mountain peaks. (KKS 59, Tsurayuki)
119
山桜を見て
He saw mountain cherries
つらゆき
[Ki no] Tsurayuki
白雲と見えつる物をさくら花けふはちるとや色ことになる
sirakumo to Although up to now mie-turu mono wo I had seen them as white clouds, sakurabana The cherry blossoms -- kehu ha tiru to ya Thinking they will fall today, iro koto ni naru Perhaps they have changed color.
- Saying
- The to particle here is not necessarily quotative -- Kifune interprets it as people saying they'll fall today (which would make this similar to SIS 1). Other commentaries interpret it as simply "the fact that they will fall today"; I have translated it as showing the manner in which the flowers changed color.
--
This is a public poem, the third consecutive poem on the confusion of mountain cherries and clouds. Kigin sees this as showing great sorrow at the scattering of the flowers.
- 春霞たなびく山の桜花うつろはむとや色かはりゆく
- The cherries on the mountain where spring mist rises; they are changing color, perhaps soon to fall. (KKS 69, poet unknown)
120
題しらず
Circumstance unknown
よみ人も
The poet as well
わがやどの影ともたのむ藤の花たちよりくとも浪にをらるな
waga yado no I rely on you kage tomo tano-mu As a shade for my garden huzi no hana Wisteria flowers: tati-yori-ku to mo Even if the waves arise, nami ni wora-ru na Don't get plucked in vain by them.
- Poet
- The Kokin waka rokujo ascribes the poem to Bishop Henjo. It also appears in the Ise Collection as a poem for a screen painting, and this version is included in the later Shoku senzai wakashu.
- Waves
- Although wisteria is often associated with waves in poetry, the meaning here is not clear without any prose preface. Kudo and Katigiri both use the interpretation found in older commentaries (starting with Fujiwara no Tameie's lectures), where nami has a dual meaning of "wave" and "normally", perhaps alluding to a man.
--
Wisteria occurs in 6 of the remaining poems in the GSS spring volume, compared to only two in the KKS.
As can be seen from the notes above, this poem is difficult to interpret. The Ise Collection's prose preface reads "Wisteria flowers blooming in a house near the sea" with the indication that this is the view depicted in the painting. With this preface the poem can be taken fairly literally -- do not let the waves "pluck" your flowers. Kifune and Kudo also think that with the preface, the wisteria suggests the Fujiwara clan and their support of Ise.
The anonymous KKS 699 uses "wisteria waves" to lead into "normally" or "regularly"
- み吉野の大河のへの藤波のなみに思はば我恋ひめやは
- The wisteria blossoms at the edge of Ogawa in Yoshino; if I think of my love regularly, how much will I long for them?
Waves picking wisteria also shows up in SIS 87, by Mitsune:
- 手もふれで惜しむかひなく藤花底にうつれば浪ぞ折りける
- I grieve for them without effect, not touching them, the wisteria: they reflected on the water's bottom and the waves plucked them.
121
[Circumstance unknown] [Poet unknown]
花ざかりまだもすぎぬに吉野河影にうつろふ岸の山吹
hanazakari The flowers' full bloom mada mo sugi-nu ni Is still not over, and yet, yoshino-gawa Yoshino river kage ni uturohu They fade in its reflection, kisi no yamabuki Yamabuki on the banks.
- Fade in its reflection
- uturohu (fade) suggests uturu (reflect [in the water]). Shinsho says that the way the entire poem hinges on this wordplay is typical of the courtly style of old poetry.
--
Yamabuki is a late spring flower that has appeared in several previous poems, and now shows up again for two poems. There is a link to the previous poem with flowers by the water.
This poem is similar in theme to KKS 124 by Tsurayuki, and was perhaps based on it:
- 吉野河岸の山吹ふく風に底の影さへうつろひにけり
- The yamabuki on the banks of Yoshino River -- in the blowing wind even the reflected image is fading.
122
人の心頼みがたくなりければ、山吹の散りさしたるを、「これを見よ」とてつかはしける
Her lover's heart had become undependable, and she took a half-scattered yamabuki flower and sent it to him saying "Look at this."
[Poet unknown]
しのびかねなきてかはづの惜をもしらずうつろふ山吹の花
sinobi-kane Unable to stop naki-te kahadu no Its tears, the frog is crying, wosimu wo mo And that lamenting sirazu uturohu Is unknown by the fading yamabuki no hana Yamabuki flower
--
This is a private love poem, written by a woman. The surface meaning is translated above, the metaphorical meaning uses the frog to represent the woman, and the flower to represent the man. She is unable to stop her crying, and he pays no attention to that, but "fades" (takes up with another woman). The imagery comes from two poems in the KKS, KKS 125 (see poem 104 above), and KKS 797 (see Poem 21).
This poem is constructed as a single modifier for the final noun, a taigen-dome technique that is particularly associated with later poetry.
123
弥生（やよひ）ばかりの花のさかりに、道まかりけるに
In the flower bloom of the third month, while walking on a road
僧正遍照
Bishop Henjo
折つればたぶさにけがるたてながらみよの仏に花たてまつる
wori-ture-ba If I break it off tabusa ni kegaru My hands will defile it. tate-nagara Still standing in bloom, miyo no hotoke ni To the gods of all the worlds, hana tatematuru I humbly offer flowers.
--
This is apparently a public, occasional poem, on a general flower theme. The imagery and words are unusual for a spring poem but fit well with a composition by a priest. It resembles a poem from the travel book of the KKS, by Sugawara no Michizane, which also uses the idea of making a sacred offering to the gods of the natural world as it is.
- このたびは幣（ぬさ）もとりあへずたむけ山紅葉の錦神のまにまに
- We don't have time to do offerings for this journey: instead, gods, please take the brocade of autumn leaves on Tamuke Mountain.
The GSS poem is different in that Henjo suggests the act of picking wild flowers defiles them, and thus leaving them on the branch is a better way to show reverence to the gods.
Shunzei included this poem in the Korai futeisho.
It also appears in Tales of Yamato 168, a long narrative about the lives of Henjo and his son Sosei (probably a fictional account built around poems by the two of them). The poem appears in the section where Sosei visits Henjo; Henjo tells him the son of a priest should be a priest, so Sosei complies. The poem follows, and then the tale goes on to relate that Sosei didn't really want to be a priest and so continued his romantic dalliances. Henjo then disowned him and refused to meet him. The meaning of the poem in this context is not entirely clear.
124
題しらず
Circumstance unknown
よみ人も
Also the poet
みなそこの色さへ深き松がえにちとせをかねてさける藤波
minasoko no On the branch of pine iro sahe fukaki Even in the water's depths matu ga e ni A deep green color, titose wo kanete Blooming wisteria waves sake-ru huzinami Presaging a thousand years.
--
The sequence of poems returns to wisteria, similar to poem 121 in the use of a reflection on the bottom of the water.
Shinsho and Katagiri both read this as a poem on a screen painting, and Katagiri says that it was probably a celebration poem for the Fujiwara clan. This seems to be the most reasonable way to read the poem since the "thousand years" is typical of such congratulatory poems that other collections place in the "celebration" volume. Given that the next three poems in the collection are celebratory poems surrounding a gathering at Fujiwara no Kanesuke's house, it's clear that the GSS compilers saw a celebratory meaning to this poem as well.
125
弥生（やよひ）のしもの十日ばかりに、三条右大臣、兼輔の朝臣の家にまかりて侍りけるに、藤の花咲ける遣水のほとりにて、かれこれ大御酒（おほみき）たうべけるついでに
On the 30th of the 3rd month, the Sanjo Minister of the Right [Fujiwara no Sadakata] went to Kanesuke's house. Around an artificial stream where wisteria was growing, various people were drinking wine, and on that occasion:
三条右大臣
Sanjo Minister of the Right
限なき名におふふぢの花なればそこひもしらぬ色のふかさか
kagiri naki The wisteria na ni ohu hudi no Bears the name "Depth Limitless" hana nare-ba And therefore it has sokohi mo sira-nu A depth of color of which iro no hukasa ka Nobody knows the bottom.
- Depth Limitless
- hudi (wisteria) plays here on huti (deep water), suggesting also the depth of color and allowing for the use of sokohi (bottom).
--
The next six poems form a group of public occasional poems in two sets of three, by Sadakata, Kanesuke, and Tsurayuki. The first three were composed at a drinking party on the first night, and then the next three seemingly the next day. According to both the Kanesuke and Sadakata poetry collections, this took place on the 1st of the 3rd month, at Kanesuke's Kyogoku residence. Perhaps the GSS compilers changed the date to allow for a better fit of these poems within the GSS context.
This poem praises the wisteria flowers, and thus metaphorically the Fujiwara clan with its "limitless name". Sadakata is Kanesuke's cousin. Previous poems have shown Kanesuke in the role of poetic patron. The Shinsho records that a teacher told Nakayama that this poem must not be connected to the glory of the Fujiwara, but it's not clear why that is the case, and no other source mentions this.
126
兼輔朝臣
Lord Kanesuke
色深くにほひし事は藤浪のたちもかへらで君とまれとか
iro hukaku Wisteria waves nihohi-si koto ha Which have bloomed in the brilliance hudinami no Of a deep color: tati mo kahera-de They are telling you "Don't rise kimi tomare to ka And return home like the waves!"
- Don't stand
- tati forms a pivot with the waves of wisteria rising, and Sadakata rising to return home.
--
Kanesuke turns aside Sadakata's praise and makes his poem entirely about the beauty of the wisteria. His poem invites Sadakata to stay the night.
The Kanesuke and Sadakata collections continue with more response poems by the two, but the GSS' omission of these poems creates a symmetry between the two sets of poems by Kanesuke, Sadakata, and Tsurayuki.
127
貫之
[Ki no] Tsurayuki
さほさせどふかさもしらぬふちなれば色をば人もしらじとぞ思ふ
saho sase-do The pool is so deep hukasa mo sira-nu That even a sounding pole huti nareba Won't let us find the bottom iro wo ba hito mo So the color, certainly, sira-zi to zo omohu I don't think people can know.
- Bottom
- As in the previous poem, huti plays on hudi (wisteria).
--
This is the third poem in the sequence, with the same wordplay and imagery. The general reading of the poem is that Tsurayuki is supporting Kanesuke in urging Sadakata to stay the night.
But Kudo finds the connection weak, and Tsurayuki's poem is conspicuously absent from the account of the party in the Sadakata and Kanesuke collections. It is also not in Tsurayuki's own collection. This is also true of the next set. Were these poems inserted here by the GSS compilers because of Tsurayuki's association with Kanesuke's patronage?
A poem with similar imagery does appear in the Tsurayuki collection:
- みなぞこに影さへ深き藤花花の色にやさほはさすらん
- Even the wisteria's reflection on the bottom of the pool is deep: can we measure the color with a sounding pole? [no we can't]
128
琴笛などして遊び、物語などし侍りけるほどに、夜ふけにければ、まかりとまりて
While they made music on koto and flutes and chatted about various things, night fell, and they stayed the night.
三条右大臣
The Sanjo Minister of the Right [Sadakata]
昨日見し花のかほとてけさみればねてこそさらに色まさりけれ
kinohu misi The flowers' faces hana no kaho to te That I had seen yesterday kesa mire-ba I look this morning, ne-te koso sara ni And it's just because we've slept iro masari-kere Their color is more brilliant.
- Stayed the night
- Many texts add "The next morning..." clarifying the time the poem was written. The prose prefaces in the individual collections, while very different in wording, also end with "the next day" or "morning". Kifune also emends the text to add the phrase.
--
This is the second set of three poems at the gathering described in 125. The individual collections also indicate these poems are a continuation from the previous set. Rather than continuing the wordplay with wisteria, Sadakata's poem uses love imagery to speak of the flowers. The "flower's face" is an image of a woman, and thus because you have spent the night together she looks more beautiful.
Norinaga describes this as a greeting to Kanesuke, because normally people's faces look worse after getting up, but other commentators see the opposite (that women's faces are fresher in the morning). Katagiri says this is an "entertaining poem."
129
兼輔朝臣
Lord Kanesuke
ひと夜のみねてしかへらば藤の花心とけたる色見せんやは
hitoyo nomi If only one night ne-te si kahera-ba You sleep and then return home hudi no hana Do you really think kokoro toke-taru The wisteria will open iro mise-n ya ha Their hearts and show their color?
--
This is a response to the previous poem, urging Sadakata to stay on longer. The poem uses romantic imagery, that if you only stay one night with the woman and return home, she won't open her heart to you. In the same way, one night is not enough time to enjoy the true beauty of the wisteria.
130
貫之
[Ki no] Tsurayuki
あさぼらけしたゆく水はあさけれど深くぞ花の色は見えける
asaborake In the morning dawn sita yuku midu ha The water flowing under asakere-do Is shallow, and yet, hukaku zo hana no The deep color of flowers iro ha mie-keru Can surely be seen in it!
--
There is some difficulty in interpreting this poem. Kudo once again suggests that it doesn't quite fit, and that it wasn't originally composed at this gathering. The Shinsho says that Tsurayuki is agreeing with Kanesuke and that the shallowness of the flowing water is a symbol of the shallowness of Sadakata's heart. Kifune doesn't like this interpretation, feeling that Tsurayuki's poem should be supporting Sadakata, not criticizing him. In that case it may be some sort of humble pose.
midu (water) may be a play on mitu (have seen, e.g. slept with a woman), a common technique in love poetry. In this case, it would mean not that Sadakata's heart is shallow, but that the one night he saw the flowers (woman) is not enough to fully appreciate her beauty.
Kifune has high praise for this six poem sequence -- it shows the lively poetic activity of the nobility, and is a highlight of the collection.
131
題知らず
Circumstance unknown
よみ人も
The poet as well
鶯の糸によるてふ玉柳ふきなみだりそ春の山風
uguhisu no The jewelled willow ito ni yoru tehu Woven from thread by warblers tamayanagi Or so it is said: huki na midari so Don't blow and ruin the weave, haru no yamakaze O spring wind from the mountains!
- Jewelled willow
- This is simply a poetic word for willow, which helps fill out the meter.
--
Before moving into the end of spring, one poem about warblers and willows is inserted here. This might seem to belong with the much earlier group of warbler poems, but perhaps it was placed here to show that willows and spring wind do not have a specific time in spring. Since willows are often on riverbanks, perhaps there is a link to the previous poem that way?
KKS 1081 provides the basis for the imagery here:
- 青柳を片糸によりて鶯のぬるてふ傘は梅の花がさ
- The hats that they say warblers weave, with the warp being blue willow, are hats of plum blossom
Katagiri thinks that there is some allegory or allusion here that's missing without a prose preface, but it's not clear why that should be the case.
Shikashu 14, by Taira no Kanemori, provides and early example of a poem based on this one:
- 佐保姫の糸そめかくる青柳をふきなみだりそ春の山風
- The green willow, whose thread is dyed by Sahohime, don't blow and ruin the weave, o spring wind from the mountains!
132
桜の花の散るを見て
He saw the cherry blossoms fall
みつね
Mitsune
いつのまにちりはてぬらん桜花おもかげにのみ色を見せつつ
itu no ma ni When did it happen, tiri-hate-nu-ran They seem to have all scattered, sakurabana The cherry blossoms: omokage ni nomi Now only as memory iro wo mise-tutu Does their color keep appearing.
--
As we approach the end of spring, the cherry blossoms have now fallen. This is an occasional poem that expresses the swiftness of the blooming and scattering -- so quickly that maybe they never bloomed at all (Kifune). In this image it is similar to poem 98 above. Gosenshu 7#391 expresses a similar idea but with autumn leaves.
Another poem by Mitsune (SIS 1036) is similar, but has the omokage (memory, shadow, image) occurring before the blooming.
- 咲かざらむ物とはなしに桜花面影にのみまだき見ゆらん
- They aren't things that will never bloom, the cherry blossoms, but I see them blooming early in my mind.
133
敦実親王の花見侍りける所にて
At a place where Prince Atsumi was viewing flowers
源中宣朝臣
Minamoto no Nakanobu
ちることのうきもわすれてあはれてふ事をさくらにやどしつるかな
tiru koto no I will forget uki mo wasure-te The sorrow of their falling ahare tefu What they call "pathos" koto wo sakura ni I will instead lodge within yadosi-turu kana The cherry blossoms still bloomed.
- What they call "pathos"
- The kanji 事 in the base text is a common Teika usage even when the word is 言, "words". ahare is a term that can mean a range of feelings, especially those associated with proper "courtly" response to a stimulus. Here the poet seems to be playing on the idea that the ahare feeling could apply to the sorrow and transience of the falling or fallen blossoms, as well as the beauty of the blossoms still there.
--
Sandwiched between two "fallen cherry blossoms" poem is this one, a public occasional poem that is about flowers still there, but tinged with a heavy feeling of foreboding. The poet knows that these blossoms are going to fall soon, but decides to ignore that and put all his feeling on their current beauty. Kigin interprets this as an expression of a commonplace in life: that in times of prosperity we forget that it will soon fade.
134
桜の散るを見て
Seeing cherry blossoms fall
よみ人しらず
Poet unknown
桜色にきたる衣のふかければすぐる春日もをしけくもなし
sakurairo ni If the pink color kitaru koromo no Of the clothing that I wear hukakere-ba Has sufficient depth, suguru haruhi mo Then the passing days of spring wosi-keku mo nasi I have no need to regret.
--
This poem is similar to the previous one in that it tries to ignore the sorrow and regret of the falling flowers. In this case, the poet decides that as long as he has clothing similar in color to the flowers, he can forget that the flowers have fallen. There is probably an intentional note of sour grapes and insincerity about the poem, and the deft construction alludes to the falling flowers without actually mentioning them, which heightens the feeling that the poet is trying to push them from his mind.
This is perhaps based on KKS 66 by Ki no Aritomo:
- 桜色に衣は深く染めてきむ花のちりなむのちの形見に
- I will dye my clothing a deep pink and wear it, as a memento of the flowers which will soon fall.
The anonymous KKS 46 is also similar:
- 梅が香を袖にうつしてとどめてば春は過ぐとも形見ならまし
- If I suffuse my robes with the scent of the plums and keep it there, it can be a memento of the spring that has passed.
SIS 81, an early summer poem by Minamoto no Shigeyuki, provides a later expression of the same feeling dealing with changing into summer robes.
- 花の色に染めし袂の惜しければ衣かへうき今日にもあるかな
- I feel regret for the sleeves that are dyed with the color of flowers, and so it's hard for me to change my clothing today.
135
弥生（やよひ）に閏月ある年、司召のころ、申し分にそへて、左大臣の家につかはしける
In a year where there was an intercalary third month, around the time of promotion announcements, he sent this along with a request to the house of the Minister of the Left [Fujiwara no Sadayori]
貫之
[Ki no] Tsurayuki
あまりさへありてゆくべき年だにも春にかならずあふよしもがな
amari sahe At least in a year ari-te yuku-beki That is progressing forward tosi da ni mo With a great excess, haru ni kanarazu I wish that I could surely ahu yosi mogana Find a way to meet the spring.
- Excess
- This refers to the intercalary extra month.
--
The next six poems are private exchanges between Tsurayuki and other men. This exchange recalls the ends of books 1 and 2, which also dealt with Tsurayuki's frustration at not being promoted. Modern commentators believe this was written in 942. Like the previous poems, "spring" is used as a metaphor for the beneficence of a superior or patron. Since this year has extra spring, there should be extra beneficence for him to receive.
136
返し
The reply
左大臣
Minister of the Left [Fujiwara no Sadayori]
つねよりものどけかるべき春なればひかりに人のあはざらめやは
tune yori mo Since this is a spring nodoke-karu beki Which has a calmness that is haru nare-ba Greater than normal, hikari ni hito no How could it possibly be aha-zara-me ya ha That one could fail to meet the light?
--
Sadayori's response is evasive and does not promise anything -- indeed, if this exchange was in fact written in 942, Tsurayuki (around age 70) failed to receive a promotion. The idea of spring "calmness" is found in a number of poems, but the Sadayori's main inspiration was probably this poem of Mitsune's, SIS 78:
- 常よりものどけかりつる春なれど今日の暮るるは飽かずぞありける
- This was a spring even calmer than normal, and yet at the end of spring today, I still am not fulfilled.
This sort of poem would typically be in the miscellaneous volume of other collections.
137
常にまうで来通ひける所に、障る事侍りて、久しくまで来逢ずして、年変へりにけり。あくる春、弥生（やよひ）のつごもりにつかはしける
Something prevented him, and to a place that he [Ki no Tsurayuki] had normally gone to visit, he didn't come to meet [Masatada], and the new year came. The following spring, [Masatada] sent this on the last day of the third month.
藤原雅正
Fujiwara no Masatada
君こずて年はくれにき立ちかへり春さへけふになりにけるかな
kimi kozu-te You did not visit tosi ha kure-ni-ki And the year came to an end. tati-kaheri Again the year changed, haru sahe kehu ni And today it has indeed nari-ni-keru kana Become the last day of spring!
--
The next four poems are a private exchange between Masatada and Ki no Tsurayuki, with each poet composing two poems. The subject is the end of spring. According to the Tsurayuki Collection he didn't visit because he was depressed about his lack of political progress -- this would provide a further link with the previous set of poems, and perhaps we're meant to infer this from the prose preface given here. Masatada was the son of Kanesuke, who we have seen in earlier GSS poems was a major patron and supporter of Tsurayuki and other lower ranking poets.
Katagiri says that this set of poems is influenced by Bai Juyi's "end of third month" poems but gives no specific examples.
138
ともにこそ花をも見めとまつ人のこぬ物ゆゑにをしきはるかな
tomo ni koso "Let's go together hana wo mo mi-me to And we will see the flowers!" matu hito no But then the person ko-nu mono yuwe ni I waited for didn't come, wosiki haru kana And thus for me a sad spring!
--
This is Masatada's second poem, with the same feeling as the first. Kifune wonders if Masatada might be alluding to the wisteria at Kanesuke's house (see poems 125-130).
Masatada's poem seems to be based on KKS 100:
- 待つ人も来ぬものゆゑに鶯の鳴きつる花を折りてけるかな
- The person I waited for didn't come, but I broke the flower off that the warbler was crying over.
mono yuwe ni is generally interpreted in the KKS poem to mean "but". Katagiri is the only one to interpret the phrase in GSS 138 in the same way. It doesn't quite seem to fit in Masatada's poem, which is probably why everyone else interprets it to mean "because". The KKS poem also makes sense interpreting the phrase as "because", though, and maybe Masatada himself was reading the poem in that way. Fujiwara no Norinaga in the late 12th century read the KKS poem as "because", so the interpretation was present at least in the late Heian period.
139
返し
Reply
つらゆき
[Ki no] Tsurayuki
きみにだにとはれでふれば藤の花たそがれ時もしらずぞ有りける
kimi ni da ni Time has passed without tohare-de hure-ba Invitation even from you huzi no hana And so the dusk time tasogaredoki mo Of wisteria flowers sirazu zo ari-keru Came without me knowing it.
- Dusk time of wisteria flowers
- This seems to be a reference to a poem of Bai Juyi: 柴藤花下漸黄昏 (Under the purple wisteria, the dusk comes). The same phrase is used by To no Chujo in a poem in the "Fuji no Uraba" chapter of Genji, inviting Yugiri to his house.
--
This is the first of two poems in response to Masatada; this one responds to 137. This would seem to be an apology to Masatada, but at the same time it seems to criticize Masatada for not inviting him. The version of the poem in the Tsurayuki collection is different:
- 君にだにゆかでへぬれば藤衣たれかうときも知らずぞ有りける
- Time passed without me going to you, and in these purple clothes I do not know who is upset with me.
The purple clothing may be mourning clothes, which would explain why Tsurayuki was unable to visit. This is certainly a more reasonable response than criticizing Masatada, but there may be some element of friendliness in Tsurayuki's upbraiding tone?
140
やへむぐら心の内にふかければ花見にゆかむいでたちもせず
yahemugura The climbing weed vines kokoro no uti ni In the depths of my heart hukakere-ba Grow profusely, and so, hanami ni yuka-mu To go and see the flowers ide-tati mo se-zu I am not going at all.
- weed vines
- The ヤエムグラ, or galium spurium, is an invasive vine that is often used as a symbol of an overgrown house, especially one inhabited by a woman who no one visits. Here the weeds are closing off Tsurayuki's heart.
--
This is Tsurayuki's second response poem. Many commentators see a political dimension to this since ide-tati can indicate political advancement.
Kifune thinks that 135-140 can read like a love sequence.
141
題しらず
Circumstance unknown
よみ人も
The poet as well
をしめども春の限りのけふの又ゆふぐれにさへなりにける哉
wosime-domo We lament it but haru no kagiri no The ending of this year's spring kehu no mata Is today, and too, yuhugure ni sahe The evening dusk of that day nari ni keru kana Has now come, at last I see!
--
The remaining six poems of the volume are about the end of spring. With the exception of 146, they are all contextless, or circumstantial poems. In this poem, the poet bemoans the fact that not only the last day of spring, but the evening of that day, is here. Perhaps the kure of yuhugure, indicating the end of the day, also echoes the kure (ending) of the spring. The Senshaku notes the repetition of the no particle in the second and third lines, giving the poem a certain rhythm.
This poem also appears in Tales of Ise, section 91, with this preface: "Back then it saddened this man just to see the months and days go by, and he wrote as the third month reached its close:" (trans. Mostow and Tyler). The poem has hi no rather than mata in the third line. Most commentators see the Ise version as a love poem, lamenting the time he isn't able to be with a woman. Takeoka, however, agrees with some late Edo commentators that even in the Ise context it's simply a poem about the passing of time.
Teika included this poem in his Shuka daitai collection of excellent poems.
142
みつね
Mitsune
ゆくさきををしみし春のあすよりはきにし方にもなりぬべきかな
yukusaki wo I looked with regret wosimi-si haru no On the road ahead, spring's end, asu yori ha But from this morning ki-ni-si kata ni mo Spring's end seems to have become nari-nu beki kana The road I see behind me.
--
Another contextless poem on the end of spring. The poem uses travel imagery and personifies the passing of spring as a journeying traveler. Mitsune was obsessed with his sorrow over the coming end of spring, but now spring is over, and his sorrow now turns to the spring that has actually passed.
143
弥生（やよひ）のつぐもり
The last day of the third month
つらゆき
[Ki no] Tsurayuki
ゆくさきになりもやするとたのみしを春の限りはけふにぞ有りける
yukusaki ni "Perhaps it will become nari mo ya suru to The path forward, just maybe" tanomi-si wo I depended, but haru no kagiri ha Alas the end of the spring kehu ni zo ari-keru Is here today, I see.
--
The poems on the end of spring continue, with Tsurayuki holding a prominent place in this section.
The interpretation is this poem is difficult, primarily because the first two lines are not clear -- what is the "path forward"? Commentators offer several options:
- I had been waiting for spring to start, and now suddenly it's over. (Norinaga)
- I had depended on spring to bring political advancement, but now it's over without any success (Kigin, Shinsho, Kudo)
- Even though I knew the end of spring was coming I hoped it wouldn't, but now it has ended (Kifune)
- I thought the end of spring would be far away, but before I knew it it was here (Katagiri)
I am tempted to accept the second reading because of the many Tsurayuki poems dealing with political frustration in this volume, but we cannot read it with purely a political meaning -- the yukusaki has to have a seasonal meaning as well to provide the surface of the poem. Yukusaki ni naru is easily interpretable in a political sense, but it's harder to see what "become a path forward" means for a season. Katagiri's reading would have yukusaki ni naru mean "become [in the] future", which seems reasonable.
144
よみ人しらず
Poet unknown
花しあらば何かははるのをしからんくるともけふはなげかざらまし
hana si ara-ba If we had flowers nani ka ha haru no Why would we sorrow over wosika-ran The passing of spring? kuru tomo kehu ha Even today, the last day, nageka-zara-masi We wouldn't have to lament.
--
This is a direct, simple poem on the ending of spring. Both Kifune and Katagiri note the poem's equating "lamenting spring" with "lamenting [cherry blossom] flowers."
A similar poem appears in the Mitsune collection:
- 花しあらば春もなにかはをしからんくれぬとこそはけふはみましか
- If we had flowers why would we sorrow even over the spring? Even today, the when spring has ended, we wouldn't see.
145
みつね
くれて又あすとだになきはるの日を花の影にてけふはくらさむ
kure-te mata When it ends tonight asu to da ni naki There won't be a morning haru no hi wo Of a spring day, hana no kage ni te So I will spend it today kehu ha kurasa-mu Under the shade of flowers.
- haru no hi wo
- Commentators gloss wo as either "but", "and so", or an exclamation. All of these uses typically follow predicates, not simple nouns, and I see no reason not to take this as simply the direct object wo connecting to kurasa-mu. hi (wo) kurasu is attested in poems like MY 5:818. Perhaps the kehu ha bothers the commentators, but haru no hi wo kehu ha kurasa-mu does not seem problematic to me since the poet wants to emphasize that this day only he will spend the spring day.
--
Kifune feels that 141-145 can read like a gathering of male poets (including Tsurayuki and Mitsune) going round and composing poems on the end of spring.
Mitsune composed the final poem of the spring volumes of the KKS (134) on a similar topic:
- 今日のみと春をおもはぬ時だにも立つことやすき花のかげかは
- Even if we weren't thinking that this was the last day of spring, wouldn't it be hard to leave the flowers [and thus it's even harder knowing that it is the final day]
146
弥生（やよひ）のつごもりの日、久しうまうでこぬよしいひて侍る文のおくにかきつけ侍りける
On the last day of the third month, he wrote this in the corner of a letter saying that the addressee had not come to visit in quite a while
つらゆき
Tsurayuki
又もこむ時ぞとおもへどもたのまれぬわが身にしあればをしきはるかな
mata mo ko-mu I thought that again toki zo to omohe-do In time it would come again tanoma-re-nu But my own self mi ni si are-ba Cannot be relied upon wosiki haru kana And so I lament the spring.
貫之、かくて同じ年になん身まかりにける
That same year Tsurayuki passed away.
- That same year
- Tsurayuki's death year is around 946, give or take a few years depending on the source.
--
The final spring poem closes with Tsurayuki knowing that spring will come, but not knowing if he will live to see it. There is probably also the meaning that the person he is writing to will come again, but perhaps not until he is dead. The addressee is unknown; different sources mention Kanesuke or Masatada, which are plausible candidates given Tsurayuki's exchanges with these people earlier in the collection.
Kifune points out that between poem 127 and 146, there are a high number of poetic communications between Tsurayuki and other poets, and Kudo notes the progression from unhappiness about his political prospects to his death. Tsurayuki's poems have formed a keynote of the entire spring collection, making it fitting that the 146 spring poems should close with one written in Tsurayuki's old age.
Kigin said that this poem was filled with great pathos, and the apocryphal Teika ten poetic forms assigns this to the Yugen form. Yugen is a poetic word especially associated with the SKKS, indicating a subtle profundity.
Finally, the Seigi offers a strange idea that Tsurayuki died because he wrote this "bad" poem; it's not clear whether the commenter thinks the poem itself is bad or if the idea expressed is just unlucky. The Seigi writer notes that if even a sage poet like Tsurayuki couldn't see what his poetry would lead to, lesser poets should take care.