About this work
At a shrine associated with matchmaking, the two visitors silently place their hands together in prayer. Two strawberry begonias nestled on a stone wall embody the speaker’s wish to remain beside the beloved.
Parallel reading
日本語と英語で読む
Read the Japanese original and its English translation together. On smaller screens, each language follows in sequence.
日本語原文 Japanese original
梅雨の晴れ間
二人の旅路は奇跡
訪れた縁結びの神社
何も考えずに二人手を合わせた
わたしより長く手を合わせていた彼を
横目で見ていたわたし
ずっと傍にいたいから
わたしもまた手を合わせた
境内の石垣に二つ寄り添うユキノシタ
岩にひっそりと咲いていたユキノシタ
この花になりたい
真っ白な可憐なユキノシタに
English translation 英訳
AI-assisted English translation. The Japanese original remains authoritative.
A break in the rainy season.
Our journey together is a miracle.
At the matchmaking shrine we visited,
without a thought, we both placed our hands together.
I watched him from the corner of my eye
as he kept his hands together longer than I did.
Because I want to stay beside him always,
I placed my hands together once more.
On a stone wall in the shrine grounds,
two strawberry begonias nestle side by side.
Strawberry begonias blooming quietly from the rock.
I want to become this flower—
a pure-white, delicate strawberry begonia.
Original wording, author credits, notes and source materials are preserved there.