291Japanese quotation 名言
花の色は移りにけりないたづらに我が身世にふるながめせしまに
はなのいろはうつりにけりないたずらにわがみよにふるながめせしまにHana no iro wa utsurinikeri na itazura ni waga mi yo ni furu nagame seshi ma ni
“The color of the flowers has faded, while I watched the long rains fall — and my life go by.”
The meaning
Time flows even when one only watches. Komachi's poem, gentle and without reproach, still leaves a question: to what will I have given my seasons?
At the origin
A poem by Ono no Komachi (9th century), one of the Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets (Hyakunin isshu, no. 9).
The characters
- 花 hanaflowers
- の noof (link)
- 色 irocolor
- は
- 移りにけりな
- いたづらに
- 我が
- 身
- 世
- に
- ふる
- ながめ
- せし
- ま
- に
のParticleLinks two words: possession or belonging, like “of”.
In practice
Ask what the current season is being spent on — while it is still passing.