Hyakunin Isshu Oracle

No.28 源宗于朝臣「山里は 冬ぞ寂しさ まさりける 人目も草も かれぬと思へば」

山里は 冬ぞ寂しさ まさりける 人目も草も かれぬと思へば

源宗于朝臣

the grass withered, the visits too — same word for both

the grass withered, the visits too — same word for both

キーワードKeywords

Mountain VillageNo VisitorsWithered GrassIncrease of SilenceWinter
Nature/Seasons Winter

源宗于朝臣Minamoto no Muneyuki — No. 28 公卿Court Noble

A grandson of Emperor Kōkō whose career never matched his lineage; he left poems of the mountain village.

やまざとは ふゆぞさびしさ まさりける ひとめもくさも かれぬとおもへば

Yamazato wa Fuyu zo sabishisa Masarikeru Hitome mo kusa mo Karenu to omoeba

現代語訳Modern Japanese

コンセプトConcept

情景The Scene

A village up a valley in deep winter. The grass is gone and so are the visitors — the same verb covers both. He is not describing loneliness; he is reporting that it went up this season.

日本の美意識Japanese Aesthetic

Sabi (Loneliness With Composure)

Solitude is stated as an observation rather than a complaint, which is why it lands. Report the conditions accurately and the audience supplies the ache.