KKS 61
Text
三月に閏月ありける年よみける
Read in a year where there was an intercalary month in the 3rd month.
伊勢
桜花春くははれるとしだにも人の心にあかれやはせぬ
|
sakurabana |
O cherry blossoms! |
Notes
- Intercalary month
- These were routinely inserted in the year to bring the lunar calendar back in line with the solar calendar. The most probable year for this poem's composition is 904.
Other sources:
Analysis
The basic meaning of the poem is clear enough: Ise is asking the cherry blossoms why, when spring is longer, do they not bloom for longer so that people can get their fill of the blossoms before they scatter? Since the intercalary month comes after the third month, it may seem that this poem should be placed later in the volume, but since the focus of the poem is the flowers, it makes more sense here, especially since the poem does not focus explicitly on the scattering of the flowers.
There is quite a bit of ink spilled on teasing out minute nuances of the expression, but the only major difference is a few commenters who interpret this rather as "You would think people would be fulfilled in this longer spring, but they aren't." Beyond this, Shunzei thought the poet was encouraging the flowers, while Shinzenshū saw instead a pleading tone.
This may be a "translation" of a Chinese couplet which is included in the Wakan rōeishū along with Ise's poem:
今年ノ閏ハ春三月ニアリ 剰ツサヘ見ル金陵一月ノ花ヲ
This year's intercalary month is in the third month. We can see the first month flowers of Jīnlíng even more.
