Hyakunin Isshu Oracle

No.34 藤原興風「誰をかも 知る人にせむ 高砂の 松も昔の 友ならなくに」

誰をかも 知る人にせむ 高砂の 松も昔の 友ならなくに

藤原興風

even these old pines are younger than my friends

even these old pines are younger than my friends

キーワードKeywords

Outliving FriendsAncient PineOld AgeNo WitnessesLongevity
★★ Miscellaneous

藤原興風Fujiwara no Okikaze — No. 34 官人Official

One of the thirty-six immortal poets, also a musician, best known for poems on age and lost friends.

たれをかも しるひとにせむ たかさごの まつもむかしの ともならなくに

Tare o kamo Shiru hito ni sen Takasago no Matsu mo mukashi no Tomo naranaku ni

現代語訳Modern Japanese

コンセプトConcept

情景The Scene

An old man beside the famous long-lived pines. Even these trees, the standard image for outlasting everything, are not old enough to have known the people he knew. There is no one left who was there.

日本の美意識Japanese Aesthetic

Sabi (Loneliness of Time)

Loss is measured against the longest-lived thing available, and it still comes out short. Pick the largest yardstick you can and let it fail — the scale of the failure is the feeling.