Hyakunin Isshu Oracle

No.78 源兼昌「淡路島 かよふ千鳥の 鳴く声に いくよ寝覚めぬ 須磨の関守」

淡路島 かよふ千鳥の 鳴く声に いくよ寝覚めぬ 須磨の関守

源兼昌

plovers cross all night — someone wakes to every one

plovers cross all night — someone wakes to every one

キーワードKeywords

Plover CryNight WatchBroken SleepSuma BarrierWinter Sea
Nature/Seasons Winter

源兼昌Minamoto no Kanemasa — No. 78 官人Official

A minor official remembered for a single poem about the plovers and the barrier guard at Suma.

あはぢしま かよふちどりの なくこゑに いくよねざめぬ すまのせきもり

Awajishima Kayou chidori no Naku koe ni Iku yo nezamenu Suma no sekimori

現代語訳Modern Japanese

コンセプトConcept

情景The Scene

Plovers crossing the strait at night, calling as they go. Somewhere in the guardhouse at Suma a watchman wakes to that sound again — and has, the poem guesses, for many nights running.

日本の美意識Japanese Aesthetic

Yūgen (Graceful Distance)

The poet imagines another person’s sleeplessness rather than reporting his own. Handing the feeling to an offscreen character cools it down and, oddly, deepens it.