Poetry Analysis Pt I

Since the assignment was to select a poem from Kokinshu, I chose two poems from the Love section: 274 and 289. I chose the first one because the topic was elaborated on, and the second because it was not. I thought, in addition to analyzing the pieces, it'd be nice to do a small comparison between the two.

Poetry Analysis Pt I: Poem 274

Looking at flowers,
waiting for my love
I took the blossoms
for the white
sleeve of his gown.

-Ki no Tomonori

What I find interesting about this poem, is the kind of sadness in it. Obviously, it's about a person, presumably a woman? although this poem was written by a man, waiting for their lover. They wait so anxiously and so passionately, that they see their lover in everything, including the blossoms. Now, why is their lover taking so long? I was hesitant to say this at first, but I think we can see the reason based on the type of flowers that are mistaken for sleeves. I'm going to assume they are Cherry blossoms, which I've normally seen pictured as pink, but a quick google search tells me that they can be white as well.

Because they mention cherry blossoms being seen instead of the lover, perhaps we can assume that the lover has left her? From my understanding, and another google search, the blossoms bloom right before they are about to die. Maybe the love the other shared is no longer requited, which is why he fails to show up? A dying love; it's almost too tragic. Also, the lover is/is expected to wear a white kimono.

Googling white kimonos in wiki, I came across this interesting tidbit of information:

"Mofuku

The mofuku is a formal garment intended for mourning. It is made of pitch black silk, without any embellishment other than the 5 kamon. The obi, obijime, obiage, zori, and handbag are also black. The mofuku is worn on the days of the wake, funeral, and cremation of the deceased in a Buddhist funeral ceremony. Due to white being symbolic of death in Japan, the mofuku was formerly a white garment; however, the modern mofuku is now a black garment, to contrast with the white kimono of the dead."

Maybe the reason why she can't be with her lover anymore is because she is dead. If her lover were to be wearing this garment, then maybe he is mourning her passing.