Kokinshu 23

Text

題しらず

在原行平朝臣

春のきる　霞の衣　ぬきをうすみ　み山かぜにこそ　みだるべらなれ

Translation

Topic unknown

Lord Ariwara no Yukihira

The robe of haze (2) / worn by spring (1) / has a thin weave, and so / it is the mountain wind / that will soon put it in disarray.

Notes

霞の衣

Here spring is personified as wearing a robe of haze. This image may derive from Chinese poetry. The Template:Denju goes as far as linking this to the goddess Saohime, who governs spring, but this may be going too far.

ぬきをうすみ

The を....み structure means が...ので, indicating a cause and effect. Takeoka indicates that this is often used to express the view of a third person observer. This line continues the metaphor above by likening the transparent haze to a thinly woven robe being pulled in two.

べらなれ

This phrase (here in the IZ because of the こそ) is used 25 times in the KKS and hardly at all outside of it. It was apparently a phrase that was in vogue around the time. It is composed from the stem of べし plus a ら suffix to turn it into a noun, and then the copula なり. The meaning is that something appears to be a certain way or soon will be.

Analysis

The Template:Teika includes this as a poem to base ones composition on. The Template:Teika used it as an example of a poem that uses the calm (やさしき) mi syllable three times.

The basic meaning of the poem is clear