This phrase shows that something finished in the past. It often adds a feeling of surprise or special meaning.
Verb [stem] + にけりPrimary
This phrase shows that something finished in the past. It often adds a feeling of surprise or special meaning.
春過ぎて夏来にけらし白妙の衣干すてふ天の香具山
Spring has passed and summer has come, it seems—so they say of heavenly Mount Kagu, where they dry the white robes.
多くの年月は過ぎにけり。
Many years have passed by (I now realize).
過ぎにける昔を思ひて、涙落としつ。
Thinking of the past that has gone by, I shed tears.
約束の人は来ず、夜は更けにけり。
The person I was waiting for did not come, and the night has grown deep (I now see).
世は変わり果てにけり。
The world has completely changed (a realization).
It's like finding a hidden treasure. You suddenly realize something finished in the past. It feels special or surprising.
This is different from "~keri" alone. "~nikeri" shows something is completely done. "~keri" just means it happened. "~nikeri" is also different from "~niki". "~niki" means you saw it happen yourself. "~nikeri" means you just noticed it, or heard about it.
Don't use this when you talk to friends. This is an old way to speak. You will mostly see it in old books. You might also see it in poems. Or in writing that wants to sound old or fancy.
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