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A Japanese miscellany - University of Oregon

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!<br />

112 <strong>Japanese</strong> Miscellany<br />

Koe naki wo,<br />

Tombo munen ni<br />

Miyuru kana<br />

O dragon-fly! you appear to be always angry because<br />

you have no voice<br />

! !<br />

Semi ni makenu<br />

Hagoromo mocliishi,<br />

Tombo kana<br />

O dragon-fly I the celestial raiment i you possess is no-<br />

wise inferior to that <strong>of</strong> the cicada !<br />

Lightness <strong>of</strong> Dragon-flies<br />

Tsubame yori<br />

Tombo wa mono mo<br />

Ugokasazu.<br />

More lightly even than the swallow does the dragon-fly<br />

touch things without moving them.<br />

Tombo ya,<br />

Tori no fumarenu<br />

Eda no saki<br />

* Literally " feather-robe " (hagoromo) ; — this is the name given<br />

to the raiment supposed to be worn by the "Sky-People" — angelic<br />

inhabitants <strong>of</strong> the Buddhist heaven. The hagoromo enables its<br />

wearer to soar through space ; and the poet compares the wings <strong>of</strong> the<br />

beautiful insect to such a fairy robe.<br />

!

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