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Audio: NHK Creative Library
Read by LibriVox volunteer Larry Wilson.
Audio courtesy of LibriVox (Public Domain).
光孝天皇
君がため
春の野に出でて
若菜つむ
わが衣手に
雪は降りつつ
わかころも
てにゆきは
ふりつつ
きみがためは
- Poem 15
- 君がため
春の野に出でて
若菜つむ
わが衣手に 雪は降りつつ
Author: Emperor Kōkō (830–887)
Source: Kokin Wakashū, Spring
- English Verse Translation
- Mother, for thy sake I have been Where the wakana grow, To bring thee back some fresh green leaves
And see—my koromo Is sprinkled with the snow!
— William N. Porter, 1909
- Modern Translation
- Going out into the spring fields to pick young greens for you — the snow falls on my sleeves.
- Commentary
- The Kokin Wakashū's headnote reads, "Composed by the Emperor of the Ninna era, when he was still a prince, and sent along with a gift of young greens to someone." This poem was attached as a note when the future Emperor Kōkō, still only a prince at the time, presented someone with a gift of young greens.
- About the Poet
- After Retired Emperor Yōzei was deposed by Fujiwara no Mototsune, Emperor Kōkō ascended the throne at fifty-five on Mototsune's recommendation. He died only three years into his reign, during which real political power remained largely in Mototsune's hands. The Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku describes Kōkō's character as "humble, gentle, compassionate, and broad-minded" — a warmth that comes through clearly in this poem as well.
- Emperor Kōkō's Chart of the Heart
-
A chart and a modern-language reflection of the poet's inner feelings.
The Poet's Feelings (A Personal Interpretation)
The cold of the snow falling on my sleeves
makes me pause for a moment.
Even so, these fingers picking young greens
are thinking only of you.
- Poem Illustration
-
This image is based on an illustration from William N. Porter's A Hundred Verses from Old Japan, his 1909 English translation of the Hyakunin Isshu published in England, colorized and reworked using Adobe Firefly (generative AI).