Hyakunin Isshu Oracle

No.61 伊勢大輔「いにしへの 奈良の都の 八重桜 今日九重に 匂ひぬるかな」

いにしへの 奈良の都の 八重桜 今日九重に 匂ひぬるかな

伊勢大輔

eight-fold blossom from the old capital opens inside the nine-fold court

eight-fold blossom from the old capital opens inside the nine-fold court

キーワードKeywords

Double CherryOld CapitalNine LayersCourt PresentationNumbers
Nature/Seasons Spring

伊勢大輔Ise no Taifu — No. 61 女房・姫Court Lady

Granddaughter of Yoshinobu, remembered for improvising a poem when double cherry blossoms were presented at court.

いにしへの ならのみやこの やへざくら けふここのへに にほひぬるかな

Inishie no Nara no miyako no Yaezakura Kyō kokonoe ni Nioinuru kana

現代語訳Modern Japanese

コンセプトConcept

情景The Scene

Cherry branches from the old capital, the many-petalled kind, carried into the palace and presented. Eight layers of petals arriving inside the nine-layered court: the numbers line up, and so does the compliment.

日本の美意識Japanese Aesthetic

Mitate (Number as Structure)

Two numerals do the work of an entire argument about continuity between eras. Formal constraints — counts, layers, symmetry — can carry meaning that adjectives cannot.