Spin & Discover Kakekotoba!
Poem 16: Middle Counselor Yukihira
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.
立ち別れ
いなばの山の
峰に生ふる
まつとし聞かば
今帰りこむ
Commentary
This poem has two kakekotoba hidden within it.
A kakekotoba layers two meanings onto a single word that sounds the same either way.
The first is "inaba." It carries both the place name "因幡" (Inaba) and "往なば" (if I go).
The second is "matsu." It carries both "松" (pine tree) and "待つ" (to wait).
The poet layers the loneliness of parting, as he sets off for Inaba, onto the image of a pine tree growing on a mountain peak — entrusting his feelings, "if I hear that you are waiting for me, I will come back at once," to a place name and a scene from nature.
Making two kakekotoba resonate within just thirty-one syllables is this poem's charm.
Vocabulary
Parting ways on a journey.
If [I] go.
The eastern part of present-day Tottori Prefecture.
Growing.
I will come back at once. "Mu" expresses intention.