徒花”と”咲いて散っていく = bloomed and fell away “as” a fruitless flower


What does 徒花と咲いて散っていくきみに mean ? At first, I thought it means “To you _**and**_
a fruitless flower”, but later I saw the lyrics translating to “To you, who
bloomed and fell away _**as**_ a fruitless flower”

So, the translation makes me think this と means something like として、徒花のように, but
I’ve never seen と is used in this way.

If possible, please explain it to me in easy English. Thanks a lot.

<https://youtu.be/zuoVd2QNxJo?si=5JkfWfGi_8JkKrE1> The song.




This is a rare, old and literary usage of と for resultant state. A
representative example of this type of と is a set phrase 露と消える ("to vanish
like dew", "to disappear without a trace"). So "bloomed and fell away as a
fruitless flower" is a correct literal interpretation. 徒花と散る implies that
something ends up being a complete waste.

  * [Confusion with omitted particle and 祝福と変える](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/93381/5010)
  * [Understanding と in 兇暴な雄叫びを鬨の声と上げ](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/95370/5010)
  * [ちりと化すぞ - What is the function of particle と?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/80519/5010)
  * [use of と in 無用の長物と化した](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/61934/5010)




This is a rare, old and literary usage of と for resultant state. A
representative example of this type of と is a set phrase 露と消える ("to vanish
like dew", "to disappear without a trace"). So "bloomed and fell away as a
fruitless flower" is a correct literal interpretation. 徒花と散る implies that
something ends up being a complete waste.

  * [Confusion with omitted particle and 祝福と変える](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/93381/5010)
  * [Understanding と in 兇暴な雄叫びを鬨の声と上げ](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/95370/5010)
  * [ちりと化すぞ - What is the function of particle と?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/80519/5010)
  * [use of と in 無用の長物と化した](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/61934/5010)

