[9] はなの (Hanano)

 Poem Meaning and Background

はなのいろは・うつりにけりな・いたづらに

hana no iro wa・utsuri ni keri na・itazura ni

わがみよにふる・ながめせしまに

wagami yo ni furu・nagame seshi ma ni

    

~小野小町（Ono no Komachi)

Translation

Color of the flower
Has already faded away, 
While in idle thoughts 

My life passes vainly by, 
As I watch the long rains fall

Meaning

    The author of this poem was said to be an exceptional beauty. In this poem, she compares her own fleeting beauty to cherry blossoms, which bloom briefly and are all too quickly scattered and swept away by long spring rains. 
    The poet employs more than one play on words with the phrases ふる(furu) andながめ (nagame). With furu, it can be taken to mean 降る(fall, as in rainfall) or 経る(pass, as in passing of time or one's life). Nagame can mean 長雨(long rains) or 眺め(to gaze at, to observe, which can also mean to contemplate). 

Author

    Ono no Komachi (dates unknown) was a poet active in the early Heian period and is known as one of the 6 immortals of poetry as well as one of the 36 immortals of poetry. Her loveliness was so famed that the name "Komachi" is considered synonym for feminine beauty in Japanese culture. Little about her life is known for certain, but her poetic prowess, tales of her beauty, and rumors of various love affairs are the basis of many legends.