KKS 59
Text
「歌たてまつれ」と仰せられし時によみてたてまつれる
When [the Emperor] said "Submit a poem," [Tsurayuki] read this and submitted it.
桜花咲きにけらしもあしひきの山のかひより見ゆる白雲
|
sakurabana |
The cherry blossoms |
Notes
See KKS 22 for an explanation of the preface.
- foot-dragging
- ashihiki no is a pillow word for mountains, of uncertain meaning. Takeoka thinks that in this poem, the image of sleeves "dragging" is important to the scene.
Other sources:
Analysis
The poet here is looking at the mountains from afar, seeing the clouds. The poem begins with his conclusion, and then slowly evokes the scene over three lines. Shinzenshū sees inspiration from yamato-e screen paintings (perhaps it was even written on such a painting, given the Imperial command setting).
As is typical for Tsurayuki's poems, this one has received a great deal of praise. Pre-modern sources mention its yūgen (mysterious beauty) and evocation of a broad scene. Kaneko(1927) notes that ending with a noun ("white clouds") softens the expression. Kubota(1937) thinks the poem's construction is atypical of Tsurayuki, and notes yojō (extra feeling) in the poet's longing for late blooming blossoms. McCullough praises the poem in several places in her book, especially for making a good poem based on "“limpest of elegant-confusion materials" (415-416). "...combined with highly polished language to produce an outstanding example of the style, one in which both kokoro and kotoba contribute effectively to the elegance and wit of the whole" (333).
