On Shinobu Mountain,
a hidden path for secret visits—
would that there were one,
that I might even see
the depths of her heart.
- Meaning
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On Shinobu Mountain, would that there were a hidden path for secret visits, that I might even see the depths of her heart.
- Commentary
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Episode Fifteen: "Shinobu Mountain"
In the province of Ōshū, a man had been visiting the wife of an ordinary man, one of no particular distinction.
One day, seeing that she seemed not altogether content in her life as another man’s wife, he composed this poem.
The woman, pleased to be valued by the man, rejoiced; yet he, seeing that though she was a married woman she allowed another man to visit her and was quick to delight in his attention, felt there was nothing to be done about such a coarse heart.
The tale of Narihira’s "Journey to the East," which had continued from Episode Seven, ends here.
The man, with the elegance of a noble person of the capital, is admired by women wherever he goes.
The simple and innocent nature of women in lands far removed from the capital is depicted, suggesting the more primitive relations between men and women in such places.
- Source
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Ise Monogatari
- Other
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When night breaks,
I would thrust it in the tub—
that foolish cock,
crying too soon,
has sent my husband away.
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If you were a person
like the Aneha pine
of Kurihara,
as a keepsake for the capital
I would say, come, let us go.
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Folding my fingers,
counting the times we met—
when I say ten,
ten and ten and ten and ten
have already passed.
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If the years alone,
saying ten, have passed four times,
how many times
has she relied on you,
coming to you thus?