KKS 79
Text
山の桜を見てよめる
Read on seeing mountain cherries.
[ Ki no Tsurayuki ]
春霞なにかくすらん桜花ちるまをだにもみるべき物を
|
harukasumi |
Spring haze |
Notes
- should see
- The beki suffix in the last line can have several meanings, but they converge around the idea of "should", either in the sense of a desire, intent, or preference.
Other sources:
Analysis
The previous poem mentioned a single glimpse of the flowers, but here even that single glimpse is denied to the poet (Chokudenkai).
As usual there are a variety of explanations as to the exact situation of the poet. Takanao (Shinshaku), Matsuda(1960), and Katagiri both say that the poet has been unable to see the flowers throughout the season, but wanted to at least see their scattering. Miura(1943) instead says that the poet has been watching the flowers throughout the season, waiting to see them scatter, but at that important point is denied. Regardless, the da ni "even" particles show the poet's discontent, and the personification of the haze fits in with similar techniques in surrounding poems.
Many manuscripts attribute this poem to Kiyohara no Fukayabu. The Kokin waka rokujō also has that authorship, and it is included in the Fukayabu collection as well. Shunzei and Teika's manuscripts are the ones that lack the name, making this another poem of Tsurayuki's. There is no way to tell whether this was intentional change based on some evidence, or an accidental copying mistake.
