293Japanese quotation 名言
秋の田のかりほの庵の苫をあらみ我が衣手は露にぬれつつ
あきのたのかりほのいおのとまをあらみわがころもではつゆにぬれつつAki no ta no kariho no io no toma o arami waga koromode wa tsuyu ni nuretsutsu
“In the harvest-watch hut by the autumn fields, its rush roof loose, my sleeves grow wet with dew.”
The meaning
An emperor — tradition says — shares the damp night of the harvest guards. The poem opens the Hyakunin isshu with this gesture: greatness that knows the dew of the humble.
At the origin
The first poem of the Hyakunin isshu, traditionally attributed to Emperor Tenji (7th century).
The characters
- 秋 akiautumn
- の noof (link)
- 田 tarice field
- の
- かりほ
- の
- 庵
- の
- 苫
- を
- あらみ
- 我が
- 衣手
- は
- 露
- に
- ぬれつつ
のParticleLinks two words: possession or belonging, like “of”.
In practice
Spend one hour in the real conditions of those your comfort depends on.
Editorial note
Traditional attribution, debated by philologists.