Fujiwaranoteika at 14:42, 25 June 2026

2026-06-25T14:42:07Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:42, 25 June 2026
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	== Analysis ==		== Analysis ==

			The basic meaning of the poem is fairly clear: the poet wonders at the difficulty of finding this cherry blossom given that they are concealed in the mountains behind the spring haze.

			Beyond this basic meaning there is a fair amount of disagreement about the exact setting of the poem. One possibility is that it is a poem of thanks to someone for bringing the blossom as a present. Both pre-modern and modern scholars have read it this way, but there have also been voices of disagreement. Mabuchi thought this would have had to be stated in the prose preface, while Katagiri thought that the first line would not really fit in a poem of thanks.

			Another reading is that the poet is seeing this branch in a vase in someone's house and reading it as praise of the owner. Katagiri connects the poem with poems [[KKS 51\|51]], [[KKS 54\|54]], and [[KKS 55\|55]], imagining the flower viewing visit from the standpoint of someone who didn't go.

			Takeoka interprets the "mountain cherry" as suggesting a woman, thus creating a kind of fantasy world through personification of the haze. He thinks the strength of the ending particles in the first two lines create an accusatory and critical tone of the person who broke the branch. This would not fit with either a poem of thanks or praise of a householder, but the preface does not specify either of those settings.

			Matsuda(1968) criticized the poem's unclear expression for leading to these multiple interpretations, but the ''Shinzenshū'' found this poem typical of Tsurayuki, and Mabuchi praised the depth of feeling and interest.

	[[KKS 57\|Previous poem]] \| [[KKS 59\|Next poem]]		[[KKS 57\|Previous poem]] \| [[KKS 59\|Next poem]]

Fujiwaranoteika: Created page with "Previous poem | Next poem == Text == 折れる桜をよめる Read on a broken off branch of cherry blossom 貫之 Ki no Tsurayuki 誰しかもとめて折りつる春霞たち隠すらん山の桜を {{PoemPair |orig= tare shikamo tome-te ori-tsuru harukasumi tachi-kakusu-ran yama no sakura wo |trans= Who could it have been That sought it and broke it off -- By spring haze It must have been concealed The mountain..."

2026-06-25T14:33:03Z

Created page with "Previous poem | Next poem == Text == 折れる桜をよめる Read on a broken off branch of cherry blossom 貫之 Ki no Tsurayuki 誰しかもとめて折りつる春霞たち隠すらん山の桜を {{PoemPair |orig= <poem> tare shikamo tome-te ori-tsuru harukasumi tachi-kakusu-ran yama no sakura wo </poem> |trans= <poem> Who could it have been That sought it and broke it off -- By spring haze It must have been concealed The mountain..."

New page

[[KKS 57|Previous poem]] | [[KKS 59|Next poem]]

== Text ==

折れる桜をよめる

Read on a broken off branch of cherry blossom

貫之

[[Ki no Tsurayuki]]

誰しかもとめて折りつる春霞たち隠すらん山の桜を

{{PoemPair
|orig=
<poem>
tare shikamo
tome-te ori-tsuru
harukasumi
tachi-kakusu-ran
yama no sakura wo
</poem>

|trans=
<poem>
Who could it have been
That sought it and broke it off --
By spring haze
It must have been concealed
The mountain cherry trees
</poem>
}}

== Notes ==

Other sources:

* ''[[Kokin waka rokujō]]''

== Analysis ==

[[KKS 57|Previous poem]] | [[KKS 59|Next poem]]

[[Category:Spring]]
[[Category:Cherries]]

KKS 58 - Revision history

Fujiwaranoteika at 14:42, 25 June 2026