KKS 28
Text
題しらず
Topic unknown
よみ人しらず
Poet unknown
ももちどりさえづる春は物ごとにあらたまれども我ぞふりゆく
|
momochidori |
In spring |
Notes
- many birds
- There is general agreement that momochidori simply means "various birds" or "many birds." However, Fujiwara no Toshiyori (Toshiyori zuinō) claimed that this was another word for the warbler. Other commentators cited Chinese sources in support (even Keichū), but the theory was generally discounted among the earliest commentators, partly because this poem seems to come after the other warbler poems. But Fujiwara no Teika in the Hekianshō showed sympathy for the theory, and his great reputation and influence ensured the survival of the idea. In the medieval period the bird was one of the "three birds" of the Kokin Denjū secret theories; in one account this represents the many officials of the realm who carry out the Emperor's orders.
Other sources:
Analysis
The poem's basic meaning is that in spring everything is made new, but the poet instead is growing old. The feeling is close to Man'yōshū 1884:
冬過ぎて春し来ぬれば年月はあらたなれども人はふりゆく
Winter passes and spring comes; the years and months are becoming new but people are growing old.
As several commenters note, the KKS version is more personal with the use of "I" rather than "people". The KKS poem also uses sounds to set the scene in the first part of the poem rather than simply calendar facts.
Matsuda(1968) and Takeoka both interpret this as more of a miscellaneous poem than a spring poem, noting that the spring imagery isn't central to the poem. Katagiri's reading is inspired by "praise of the aged" folk songs, and he praises its natural and unaffected rhythm.
