Chūgū nyōbō uta’awase 5

つゆむすぶあきはて方のきりぎりすくさのねごとにさむくこそなけ

tsuyu musubu
akihategata no
kirigirisu
kusa no ne goto ni
samuku koso nake
Drenched with dew
At the far edge of dawn
The crickets
Crying from the roots of every stalk,
So cold, do sing.[i]

5[ii]


[i] This poem is built around a wordplay in its final section, which has kusa no ne goto ni 草の根ごとに (‘the roots of every stalk of grass’) and ne goto ni samuku 音ごとに寒く (‘every chirp coldly’).

[ii] Motozane-shū (64) with the headnote ‘Crickets’ (kirigirisu きりぎりす).

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