A working space for my notes on Ogura Hyakunin Isshu - a classical Japanese anthology of 100 poems by 100 poets. My thanks to Jane Reichhold and fellow members of the AHApoetry Forum for their encouragement, advice and participation; and also to my fellow fellow members of Eratosphere for their comments and suggestions.

Sunday 1 April 2012

#002 春過ぎて

春過ぎて
夏来たるらし
白妙の
衣ほしたり
天の香具山

haru sugite natsu kitaru rashi shirotae no koromo hoshi-tari ama no kaguyama

Empress Jito


spring has passed
and summer come, it seems:
pure white robes
are hung out to air
on heavenly Mount Kagu

(trans. Köy Deli)
with spring gone
it seems summer is here
the pure white
of robes being aired
in the heaven of Bud Mountain

(trans.  Jane Reichhold)



haru sugite
spring has passed
natsu kitaru rashi
summer come it seems/appears
shirotae no
pure white of
koromo hoshi-tari
garments drying/airing
ama no kaguyama
heavenly Kagu Mountain

so the spring has passed

and summer come it appears

from the pure white robes

that have been hung out to air

on heavenly Mount Kagu



The version of this poem in  Ogura Hyaknin Isshu adds ‘they say’ (tefu/chō )

春過ぎて
夏来にけらし
白妙の
衣ほすてふ
天の香具山

Haru sugite
Natsu kinikerashi
Shirotae no
Koromo hosu  chō
Ama no Kaguyama 

Based on the fact that white robes are being aired/dried on Heavenly Mount Yaga (it is said), it appears that spring has gone/passed and summer come/arrived. 

so the spring has passed
and the summer's come it seems,
as pure white vestments
are hung out to air they say,
Heavenly Kagu Mountain . . .



haru
spring

2
sugite
過ぎて
passed

2
natsu
summer

2
Kitaru-rashi
来たるらし
Come(s), next, coming, came + suffix –rashi (it seems)
‘ru’ () may be elided.
2
Shiro-tae
白妙
White- (tae=bark fibre cloth – a common modifier of ‘white’ (pure, dazzling)

2
koromo
Garments, clothing

1, 2
ama-no
天の
heavenly

2
yama
mountain

2
Kagu
香具
Name of mountain

2
hoshi tari
ほしたり
To dry/air

2
shiro
white

2











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