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English
Audio: NHK Creative Library
Read by LibriVox volunteer Larry Wilson.
Audio courtesy of LibriVox (Public Domain).
藤原義孝
君がため
惜しからざりし
いのちさへ
長くもがなと
思ひけるかな
なかくもか
なとおもひ
けるかな
きみがためお
- Poem 50
- 君がため
惜しからざりし
いのちさへ
長くもがなと 思ひけるかな
Author: Fujiwara no Yoshitaka (954–974)
Source: Go Shūi Wakashū, Love
- English Verse Translation
- Death had no terrors, Life no joys, Before I met with thee; But now I fear, however long
My life may chance to be, 'Twill be too short for me!
— William N. Porter, 1909
- Modern Translation
- A life I once did not mind losing — now, for your sake, I wish it would last forever.
- Commentary
- This "morning-after poem" was sent by Fujiwara no Yoshitaka to a woman he had spent the night with. It delicately captures the shift in his feelings before and after their meeting.
- About the Poet
- Fujiwara no Yoshitaka was born the son of Kentoku-kō (Fujiwara no Koretada, Poem 45). A young man of striking looks and great promise, he nonetheless died of smallpox at only twenty-one — despite having composed a poem wishing for a long life. He held a deep Buddhist faith, and is said to have refrained from eating meat or fish throughout his life. His eldest son, Fujiwara no Yukinari, was counted among the Three Great Calligraphers (Sanseki).
- Fujiwara no Yoshitaka'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 moment I finally met you,
my life became something worth holding onto.So this happiness won't end,
I only want to walk beside you, for a long, long time.
- 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).