On this spring day, when the sunlight falls so gently, why must the cherry blossoms scatter with such restless hearts?
Early Heian period. Ki no Tomonori was chosen as one of the compilers of the Kokin Wakashū, yet is said to have passed away before seeing it completed. Together with his cousin Ki no Tsurayuki, he was one of the central figures who built the graceful, elaborately crafted world of courtly waka.
A tranquil spring day, filled with soft, mild light. And yet why do the cherry blossoms scatter in such a restless hurry? In the contrast between the calm weather and the flurried falling of the petals lies a gentle, regretful gaze on the flowers: "you could stay just a little longer."
We laid the original poem's question over ourselves today, rushing restlessly through our lives. We keep running without a moment to stop, and before we know it the season has passed. Even when we say "no need to hurry, there's time," the blossoms — and we ourselves — hurry to scatter. And yet it is precisely because they scatter in such haste that the moment is dazzling. A song that doesn't reproach our restlessness but gently affirms it.
柔らかな光が 降り注ぐ午後に
風はやさしく 時はゆっくりと
世界中が息を ひそめているのに
桜だけが 急いでいる
こんなにも 穏やかな日なのに
どうして君は 散ってゆくの
もう少しだけ ここにいてほしい
ひさかたの 光のどけき春の日に
静心なく 舞い落ちてゆく花びら
慌てなくていい 時間はあるよ
そう声をかけても 届かないまま
ひらりひらりと 風に乗ってゆく
こんなに眩しい 春の日に
気づけばいつも 駆け抜けてきた
立ち止まる暇も ないまま今日まで
誰かの春は 穏やかに見えて
自分の春は いつも急ぎ足
こんなにも 光に満ちた日々を
どうして僕は 駆け抜けたの
もう一度だけ あの春に戻れたら
ひさかたの 光のどけき春の日に
静心なく 生きてきた僕らも
慌てなくていい 時間はあるよ
誰かがそう 言ってくれたなら
それでもきっと 散り急ぐのだろう
こんなに眩しい 日々の中で
ひさかたの
光のどけき 春の日に
しず心なく 花の散るらむ
ひさかたの 光のどけき春の日に
静心なく 舞い落ちる花びらは
僕らに似ている 君に似ている
急ぐ理由など わからないまま
それでも美しく 散ってゆくから
こんなに眩しい 春の日に
ひらりひらりと 今日も生きてゆく
In an afternoon where soft light comes pouring down
the wind is gentle, and time drifts slowly by
though all the world is holding its breath
the cherry blossoms alone are in a hurry
on such a calm and gentle day as this
why is it that you are scattering away
stay here with me just a little longer
On this tranquil spring day of softly spilling light
with a restless heart, the petals come fluttering down
there's no need to rush — there's still time enough
but even as I call out, my words never reach you
softly, ever so softly, they ride away on the wind
on this dazzling day of spring
before I knew it, I had always been racing ahead
with no time to pause, all the way to today
someone else's spring looks so serene
yet my own spring is always in a hurry
all these days so brimming with light
why was it that I raced right through them
if only once, I could return to that spring
On this tranquil spring day of softly spilling light
we too, who have lived with such restless hearts
there's no need to rush — there's still time enough
if only someone had once said that to me
and yet, surely, we would still hurry to fall
in the midst of these dazzling days
On this spring day —
of light so calm and gently spilling down
why must the blossoms fall with such restless hearts
On this tranquil spring day of softly spilling light
the petals fluttering down with restless hearts
they are so like us, so like you
never knowing the reason for our haste
and yet, because they scatter so beautifully
on this dazzling day of spring
softly, ever so softly, today too, we go on living