KKS 29
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Text
[題しらず]
[Topic unknown]
[よみ人しらず]
[Poet unknown]
をちこちのたづきも知らぬ山中におぼつかなくも呼子鳥かな
|
ochikochi no |
Here or there |
Notes
- yobuko bird
- There is a kakekotoba (pivot word) on obotsukanaku mo yobu (calling unclearly) and yobukodori (yobuko bird). There has never been certainty on what exactly this bird is. Katagiri analyzes the usage from the Man'yōshū and concludes that it is associated with spring, and thus once referred to a specific bird (rather than just any bird that is calling). But he believes that even by the Man'yōshū era the exact reference may have been lost, and it was simply used (as it is here) to play on yobu ("call") or yobu ko ("call a child"). On the other hand, Takeoka sides with the majority on identifying it with a cuckoo, despite the seasonal mismatch. Other older theories (particularly those associated with kokin denjū "three birds" theories) included warbler, other kinds of cuckoos, and even a monkey. There were also associated legends involving mothers calling for their children.
Other sources:
