Hyakunin Isshu Oracle

No.19 伊勢「難波潟 短き蘆の ふしの間も 逢はでこの世を 過ぐしてよとや」

難波潟 短き蘆の ふしの間も 逢はでこの世を 過ぐしてよとや

伊勢

not even one reed-joint of time — is that the whole of my life?

not even one reed-joint of time — is that the whole of my life?

キーワードKeywords

Reed JointsShortest IntervalNever MeetingTidal FlatUnit of Time
Love

伊勢Lady Ise — No. 19 女房・姫Court Lady

A lady-in-waiting to Emperor Uda, daughter of the governor of Ise, who left many of the court’s love poems.

なにはがた みじかきあしの ふしのまも あはでこのよを すぐしてよとや

Naniwagata Mijikaki ashi no Fushi no ma mo Awade kono yo o Sugushite yo to ya

現代語訳Modern Japanese

コンセプトConcept

情景The Scene

A tidal flat, short reeds, and between one node and the next on a single stalk — that much time. She holds up the smallest measurable interval she can find and asks whether even that is too much to ask for, for the rest of her life.

日本の美意識Japanese Aesthetic

Jokotoba (Preface Image)

The plant supplies the unit; the question supplies the scale. When you need an audience to feel “almost nothing,” hand them a physical smallest-possible amount before you name the loss.