KKS 5

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Text

題しらず　　　　

Topic unknown

よみ人しらず

Poet unknown

梅がえにきゐる鶯春かけて鳴けども未いまだ雪は降つつ

mume ga e ni ki-iru uguisu haru kake-te nake-domo imada yuki wa furi-tsutsu

The warbler that comes And sits on the plum branch Extending to spring Is crying and yet still The snow continues to fall.

Notes

Extending to spring

This line is notoriously difficult, and there are few contemporary examples of "time word + kakete" -- while there are a number of later examples, they may have been written based on the phrase in this poem as a time when the original meaning was no longer certain. There are almost as many explanations as there are commentaries. A number of older commentaries thought this line connected to the last one, and so it was the snow that was falling into spring. Most scholars connect the line to the warbler's crying. Although there is almost no agreement on what the phrase actually means, they seem to fall into three general ideas:

1. The warbler is crying from winter into spring
2. The warbler is sending its thoughts to spring, hoping for its coming
3. The warbler is saying "It's spring!" with its cry

Given the extreme disagreement among prominent scholars it's difficult to say that there is any correct interpretation. Unfortunately, the reading of this line also affects the scholars' overall view of the meaning of the poem.

Other sources:

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

Analysis

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