KKS 24

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Text

寛平御時后きさいの宮の歌合うたあはせによめる

Read at the Empress' Poetry Competition in the Kampyō era

源宗于朝臣

Lord Minamoto no Muneyuki

ときはなる松の緑も春くればいまひとしほの色まさりけり

tokiwanaru matsu no midori mo haru kure-ba ima hitoshio no iro masari-keri

The neverchanging Green of the pine trees too When spring comes Now is one more shade Deeper in color.

Notes

Other sources:

• Kokin waka rokujō | Wakan rōeishū | Shinsen waka
• Korai fūteishō | Teika hachidaishō

Analysis

The meaning is fairly clear -- the pine trees are known for being evergreen, but in the spring when everything is turning green, even the pine trees deepen one shade. The Bishamon tendō chū cites a Chinese precedent for this idea from the Wén Xuǎn. Since pines are often on mountains, there is a connection from the previous poem's mountain wind to this one.

There does seem to be some disagreement over whether pine trees actually deepen in color (Jakuei, Kaneko(1927), many other 20th century scholars) or whether this is simply the perception of the poet because everything is turning green (Engoki,Takeoka).

As with some of the previous poems, Jidenkai reads a political meaning into this -- the thriving of those who received promotions. The Naikakubunko commentary thought that in the context of the poetry collection, this was praising the Empress for receiving the Emperor's love. But not all older commentaries took this line; Tō no Tsuneyori praised it for its naturalness and feeling. The 19th century scholar Nagano Yoshitoki (Uta no taii) lavished praise on the poem for the beauty of the words, the lack of obvious artifice, and the excellent evocation of a spring scene.

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