掛詞

• 読み: かけことば
• ローマ字: kakekotoba
• 漢字の分解: 掛 (ka/kake) — hang, apply; 詞 (shi/kotoba) — words, part of speech
• 発音: /ka.ke.ko.to.ba/

意味

Pivot word; a rhetorical device in waka poetry where a single word simultaneously carries two meanings, serving two grammatical functions at once.

One of the most characteristic techniques of classical Japanese waka poetry. A 掛詞 functions like a sophisticated pun, using the phonetic ambiguity of a word to create layered meaning — typically a pivot between a literal image (often from nature) and an emotional or romantic theme. Mastery of 掛詞 was considered essential for Heian court poets.

例文

1. この和歌には松という掛詞が使われており、待つという意味も含んでいる。
2. 掛詞は古今和歌集に頻繁に登場する技法だ。
3. 現代詩でも掛詞を活用する試みが見られる。

使い方ガイド

場面: classical poetry, waka, literary analysis

トーン: literary

起源と歴史

From 掛け (to hang, to apply simultaneously) and 言葉 (word). Describes a word that is 'hung' across two meanings at once, drawing both into the poem simultaneously.

文化的背景

時代: Classical

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Scholarly