Kokinshu 32
Text
題しらず
よみ人しらず
折りつれば 袖こそにほへ 梅花 ありとやここに うぐひすのなく
Translation
Topic unknown
Poet unknown
I broke it off, so \ my sleeves are what smell \ a plum blossom \ "It's here" perhaps \ the warbler cries.
Notes
- 折りつれば
- This is the completion つ in 已然形 followed by the ば particle ("because").
- 袖こそにほへ
- にほへ is in 已然形 because of the こそ. This may have a "but..." meaning.
- ありとや
- ありと represents the thought of the warbler, and や is the speaker's guess (that the warbler is so thinking).
- ここに
- There is some question about where ここ is; does it refer specifically to the sleeves or to the general area of the person's house or garden? Modern commentaries generally say it's the sleeve specifically.
Analysis
The basic meaning of the poem is clear; the scent on the poet's sleeves has made the warbler think there are plum blossoms in his garden. It received praise in antiquity. Teika included it in his Teika hachidaisho, Shunzei called it excellent, it was included in the pseudo-Teika Kiribioke's list of good poems, and Sogi praised its elegance and surplus-feeling. On the other hand, Kaneko found that it lacked a true sense of nature.
It wasn't until the late Edo period that the specifics of the poem came under discussion. The Chokudenkai thought that all the poems in this section had a love meaning. Kubota agreed that there is a love subtext (with the warbler standing in for a man and the plum flower the woman). But most commenters do not mention this.
The next question is about the reality of the scene. Broadly speaking there are two ways to understand it. The first is that this is an entirely fanciful exaggeration for poetic effect (obviously a flower would not transfer so much scent to a sleeve that it could be detected). But another possibility is that this is actually about the incense in the poet's robes, which would be strong enough to be smelled. Perhaps not strong enough to lure a warbler, but this reading involves less exaggeration. McCullough notes the application of the mitate (elegant confusion) idea, but here applied to a bird rather than the usual application to the poet.
Finally, Takeoka and Katagiri both note the inspiration from Chinese poetry. Katagiri concluds (along with Kubota) that this poem is probably nearly contemporary with the compilers.
The next 13 poems are about blooming plums, followed by four on their scattering. The first four blooming plum flowers are focused on the scent (Matsuda).
Fujiwara no Ariie used this poem as a honka for SKKS 53:
- 散りぬれば匂ひばかりを梅花ありとや袖に春風の吹く
- The plums have fallen, and only the scent remains, but the spring wind is blowing, perhaps thinking that the plums are here.
And Teika uses it in SIGS 2139:
- 梅の花ありとや袖の匂ひゆゑやどにとまるは鶯のこゑ
- The plum blossoms are here, perhaps it thinks, because of the scent of the sleeves, the voice of the warbler that has stopped in my garden.
Other sources
- 奥儀抄 歌林良材
- 定家八代抄 古来風体抄 桐火桶
- 源氏物語注・若菜上、宿り木
- 伊勢集（大成III)４２４