Spin & Discover Kakekotoba!
Poem 91: Gokyōgoku Regent and former Chancellor of the Realm
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.
きりぎりす
鳴くや霜夜の
さむしろに
衣かたしき
ひとりかも寝む
Commentary
The word "samushiro" is a kakekotoba.
A kakekotoba layers two meanings onto a single word that sounds the same either way.
Here, "samushiro" carries both "さ筵" (a narrow mat) and "寒し" (cold).
On this frosty, cold night when crickets are singing, must I sleep all alone on a narrow mat, spreading out only one sleeve of my robe?
The word "samushiro" layers together both the narrowness of the bed and the coldness of the night, expressing the loneliness of sleeping alone.
Packing two meanings into just thirty-one syllables is exactly what makes kakekotoba so appealing.
Vocabulary
An insect that chirps in autumn, thought to refer to what is now called a cricket.
A night so cold that frost forms.
A general term for a mat woven from straw, sedge, or similar materials.
The "sa" in "samushiro" is a prefix that smooths the rhythm of the phrase.
Spreading out only one sleeve of one's own robe. Signals that there is no one to share the bed.
Must I sleep alone?
"Kamo" expresses a question.