Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
誰をかも
Fujiwara no Okikaze · 藤原興風
誰をかも
知る人にせむ
高砂の
松も昔の
友ならなくに
Historical kana
たれをかも
しるひとにせむ
たかさごの
まつもむかしの
ともならなくに
Original English translation
Whom shall I call someone who knows me? Even Takasago’s pine is no friend from the old days.
History and context
Takasago’s long-lived pine became an enduring image in Japanese poetry and performance. Okikaze’s poem deliberately tests the comfort of that image against the loss of human companions.
Imagery and wordplay
An ancient tree survives, but survival is not friendship. Longevity cannot replace shared memory.
Kokinshū · 古今集雑上909
Japanese text and historical kana follow the linked Wikisource transcription. Classical poems can have variant spellings and wording in different anthologies. The source anthology reference identifies the version represented in this collection, not necessarily its earliest surviving text. English prose translations and reading notes are original interpretations; some wordplay permits more than one reading.