Tag: Spring
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The Beautiful Village of Yoshino
The town of Yoshino (yoshino-chō, 吉野町), near the old capitol of Nara, was a popular spot in ancient times and was often the subject of poetry in the Hyakunin Isshu anthology, for example poem 31 and poem 94. Last spring, the Yasaka Taxi company in Japan posted a terrific photo of Yoshino (original link on…
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Wishing This Moment Wouldn’t End: Poem Number 73
Cherry-blossom season doesn’t last long, so while there’s still time, I wanted to post one last poem on the subject: Japanese Romanization Translation 高砂の Takasago no Above the lower slopes 尾の上の桜 Onoe no sakura of the high mountains, the cherries 咲きにけり Saki ni keri have blossomed! 外山の霞 Toyama no kasumi O, mist of the near…
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Past Her Prime: Poem Number 9
For the first poem for March’s “women only” theme, I chose this poem, one of the earliest by a female author (after Empress Jitō, poem 2), but also one of the most famous: Japanese Romanization Translation 花の色は Hana no iro wa The color of flowers うつりにけりな Utsuri ni keri na has faded indeed いたづらに Itazura…
The Hyakunin Isshu 