Year
My Translation
By Chief Counselor Kinto (966-1041 AD)
Waterfall’s sound:
Though it died
Long ago
Its name flows,
Continuing to be heard
Original Japanese | Pronunciation |
大納言公任 | Dainagon Kinto |
滝の音は | Taki no oto wa |
絶えて久しく | Taete hisashiku |
なりぬれど | Narinuredo |
名こそ流れて | Na koso nagarete |
なほ聞えけれ | Nao kikoe kere |
Literal Translation
Waterfall/rapids ’s sound/noise
[Petering/dying out/ceasing/stopping] [long time]
Becomes not though
Name/reputation [the more so] [flowing/running/washed away]
Still/moreso [hear can]
This tanka is about a waterfall constructed for a previous emperor that was very famous because of stories, but had since dried up. A previous version of the poem used “ito” instead of “oto,” making it the “waterfall’s thread” instead of the “waterfall’s sound.”