なかなかに恋に死なずは桑子にぞ
なるべかりける玉の緒ばかり
なるべかりける玉の緒ばかり
- Roma-ji
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Nakanaka ni koi ni shinazu wa kuwako ni zo
narubekarikeru tama no o bakari - English Translation
-
Rather than thus
not die of love at all,
better to have been
a silkworm—
with but a jewel-cord’s span of life.
- Meaning
- Rather than languish so and not even die of love, it would have been better to become a silkworm, even with a life as short as a jewel-cord’s span.
- Commentary
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Episode Fourteen: "To become a silkworm"
A man traveled aimlessly to the province of Mutsu and there met a woman who lived in that land. The woman, intrigued by the man who had come from the capital, grew fond of him.
This poem was composed by the woman, filled with her feelings for the man.
"Jewel-cord" refers to the cord that strings jewels together, and is used as a figure for something very short, since the space between the jewels is but small.
- Source
- Ise Monogatari
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