Spin & Discover Kakekotoba!
Poem 8: Priest Kisen
Try to find the kakekotoba hidden in the poem and tap it.
The word you tap will spin right where it is, revealing its two meanings in turn.
わが庵は
都の辰巳
しかぞすむ
世をうぢ山と
人はいふなり
Commentary
The word "uji" is a kakekotoba.
A kakekotoba layers two meanings onto a single word that sounds the same either way.
Here, "uji" carries both the place name "宇治" (Uji) and "憂し" (sorrowful, weary of the world).
The poet simply lives on Mount Uji, near the capital — yet people assume he must be hiding away in the mountains because he is weary of the world.
Packing two meanings into just thirty-one syllables is exactly what makes kakekotoba so appealing.
Vocabulary
A crude dwelling.
A word for a compass direction: southeast.
Uji lies southeast of the capital.
Living just so.
"Zo" adds emphasis.
A place southeast of Kyoto.
Mount Uji is associated with Priest Kisen and is known today as "喜撰山" (Mount Kisen).
Painful, unwelcome.
Here, "people" means "people of the world."