Hyakunin Isshu Oracle

No.15 光孝天皇「君がため 春の野に出でて 若菜つむ わが衣手に 雪は降りつつ」

君がため 春の野に出でて 若菜つむ わが衣手に 雪は降りつつ

光孝天皇

picking greens for you — snow keeps landing on my sleeve

picking greens for you — snow keeps landing on my sleeve

キーワードKeywords

Young GreensLate SnowFor YouWet SleeveEarly Spring
Nature/Seasons Spring

光孝天皇Emperor Kōkō — No. 15 帝・皇族Sovereign

He came to the throne at the unusual age of fifty-five, having spent his earlier years in study and refinement.

きみがため はるののにいでて わかなつむ わがころもでに ゆきはふりつつ

Kimi ga tame Haru no no ni idete Wakana tsumu Waga koromode ni Yuki wa furitsutsu

現代語訳Modern Japanese

コンセプトConcept

情景The Scene

A field at the very start of spring, the ground barely thawed. He is out picking the first young greens for someone else, and snow is still coming down onto his sleeves as he does it. The gift will arrive with cold hands attached.

日本の美意識Japanese Aesthetic

Shibumi (Understated Devotion)

Care is proven by a physical detail — snow on a sleeve — instead of a declaration. Show the cost of the gesture and let the audience calculate the feeling.