Poem Meaning and Background
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| Screen shot from the anime "Oran High School Host Club" |
しのぶれど・いろにいでにけり・わがこひは
shinoburedo・iro ni ide ni keri・waga koi wa
ものやおもふと・ひとのとふまで
mono ya omou to・hito no tou made
〜平兼盛（Taira no Kanemori）
Translation
Though I would hide it,
In my face it still appears —
My fond, secret love.
And now he questions me:
"Is something bothering you?"
Taira no Kanemori (birth year unknown - 990) was a great-grandchild of Emperor Kōkō, author of poem [15] Kimigatameha. He is designated as one of the 36 Immortals of Poetry. The poet Akazome Emon, who authored poem [59] Yasu, is thought to have been his biological daughter.
Meaning
Of all the poems in the Hyakunin Isshu, I feel that this poem is one of the most relatable. It perfectly encapsulates the feeling of a strong crush that leaves the crush-bearer feeling flustered and embarrassed. What is worse, people around the author have caught on to his love troubles and are now prodding him with questions. It's such a human experience that it feels timeless, like this poem could have been written yesterday instead of over 1,000 years ago.
The backstory to this poem is also interesting: it was actually written for a poetry contest held in the year 960 by Emperor Murakami. In the contest, the author Kanemori was up against the author of [41] Koi, and the theme that was chosen for them was "Hidden love". Both poems were so impressive that the judge of the contest, Fujiwara no Saneyori, was hard-pressed to choose a winner. However, since this poem evidently elicited a stronger reaction from the Emperor, Kanemori was ultimately the winner.
忍ぶ（Shinobu) has the meaning of hidden or concealed, but also can mean to endure or bear. Shinoburedo therefore means that he attempted hide or endure his deep feelings of love, but it is implied that this attempt was not successful. In the next line, 色に出にけり（iro ni ide ni keri) means that his feelings appeared on his face; particularly, the color of his face has changed, so he's blushing. ものや思ふ (mono ya omou) means that the speaker of the poem is feeling troubled by his crush. 人の問ふまで (hito no tou made) means that his feelings have now become apparent to others, to the point that people are now starting to question him about it.
The backstory to this poem is also interesting: it was actually written for a poetry contest held in the year 960 by Emperor Murakami. In the contest, the author Kanemori was up against the author of [41] Koi, and the theme that was chosen for them was "Hidden love". Both poems were so impressive that the judge of the contest, Fujiwara no Saneyori, was hard-pressed to choose a winner. However, since this poem evidently elicited a stronger reaction from the Emperor, Kanemori was ultimately the winner.
忍ぶ（Shinobu) has the meaning of hidden or concealed, but also can mean to endure or bear. Shinoburedo therefore means that he attempted hide or endure his deep feelings of love, but it is implied that this attempt was not successful. In the next line, 色に出にけり（iro ni ide ni keri) means that his feelings appeared on his face; particularly, the color of his face has changed, so he's blushing. ものや思ふ (mono ya omou) means that the speaker of the poem is feeling troubled by his crush. 人の問ふまで (hito no tou made) means that his feelings have now become apparent to others, to the point that people are now starting to question him about it.
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