KKS 41

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Text

春の夜、梅の花をよめる

Read on plum flowers on a spring night.

Ōshikōchi no Mitsune

春の夜の闇はあやなし梅の花色こそ見えね香やは隠るる　

haru no yo no yami wa ayanashi mume no hana iro koso mie-ne ka ya wa kakururu

The spring night’s Darkness is ineffective. The color cannot be seen Plum flowers The color cannot be seen But how can you hide the scent?

Notes

Ineffective

The range of meaning of ayanashi is difficult to capture and various editions and commentaries differ on its exact meaning here. The two most common suggestions are "useless" (that is, useless at hiding the plum flowers) or "incomprehensible" (that is, it’s incomprehensible why the darkness tries to hide the flowers). Most editions go with one of these two – Takeoka seems to be the only one to apply both meanings to the poem.

Other sources:

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

Analysis

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