The valley being narrow,
the jeweled vine climbs on
up to the high peak;
never have I thought to break
my bond with you and let it cease.
- Meaning
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Like the jeweled vine that, because the valley is narrow, climbs and reaches up to the mountain peak, I have never thought to sever my bond with you.
- Commentary
-
Episode Thirty-Six: "The jeweled vine"
A certain man composed this poem to a woman who came to reproach him in strong terms, saying, "You seem to have forgotten me."
A similar poem appears among the Azuma songs in Book Fourteen of the Man'yoshu.
- Source
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Ise Monogatari
- Other
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-
If I would speak it,
I cannot; if I speak not,
my breast is troubled,
and within a single heart
I grieve alone in these days.
-
The cord of the jewels,
twisted of many strands
and firmly knotted—
though it should once be severed,
still I think we shall meet again.
-
Other than myself,
unloose not your lower cord—
the morning-glory
that will not wait for evening shade,
though it should fade so swiftly.
-
The cord we two together
knotted fast between us—
alone, by myself,
until I see you once again,
I think I shall not loose it.