Front
Back
Japanese
English
Audio: NHK Creative Library
Read by LibriVox volunteer Larry Wilson.
Audio courtesy of LibriVox (Public Domain).
紀友則
久方の
光のどけき
春の日に
しづ心なく
花の散るらむ
しつこころ
なくはなの
ちるらむ
ひさ
- Poem 33
- 久方の
光のどけき
春の日に
しづ心なく 花の散るらむ
Author: Ki no Tomonori (dates unknown–c. 904)
Source: Kokin Wakashū, Spring
- English Verse Translation
- The spring has come, and once again The sun shines in the sky; So gently smile the heavens, that
It almost makes me cry, When blossoms droop and die.
— William N. Porter, 1909
- Modern Translation
- In the peaceful light of a spring day, why do the cherry blossoms scatter so restlessly?
- Commentary
- According to the headnote in the Ki no Tomonori Shū, this poem was composed for a poetry contest held at the Empress's palace during the Kanpyō era, likely on the set theme of "falling blossoms." On a calm, windless spring day, the cherry blossoms flutter down all the same — and the poet personifies them, as though they were rushing to scatter without a moment's peace of mind. The poem conveys both the fleeting nature of the blossoms' life, gone almost as soon as they bloom, and the poet's own delicate sensitivity in watching them fall.
- About the Poet
- Ki no Tomonori was a cousin of Ki no Tsurayuki, who wrote the Tosa Nikki and the kana preface to the Kokin Wakashū. Tomonori was himself one of the Kokin Wakashū's compilers, but died before the collection was completed. His poetic talent was highly regarded — many of his works were included in imperially commissioned anthologies, and he was named one of the Thirty-Six Poetry Immortals.
- Ki no Tomonori'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 sky is so calm and still —
why must the cherry blossoms fall in such a hurry?I want to hold them here,
but I cannot.
- 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).