うら若みねよげに見ゆる若草を
ひとの結ばむことをしぞ思ふ
ひとの結ばむことをしぞ思ふ
- Roma-ji
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Urawakami neyoge ni miyuru wakakusa o
hito no musubamu koto o shi zo omou - English Translation
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So tender and young,
Fresh young grass, fair to lie on—
Thus it seems to me;
That someone will bind it close
For a pillow—this I think on.
- Meaning
- That fresh young grass, so tender and fair to lie upon, seems delightful; yet I cannot help but think that someone will bind it for a pillow and rest upon it.
- Commentary
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49. So Tender and Young
A certain man, seeing the charming appearance of his younger sister, composed this poem.
He likens his sister to fresh young grass.
It expresses the thought that the young woman, with whom he wishes to share a night in her innocence, will become someone’s wife, and that this is painful and regretful.
Though it shows his feelings for his sister quite frankly, in the Heian period marriage between half-siblings was not uncommon. Or even if they shared the same mother, aristocratic siblings did not ordinarily meet in daily life, and he may have felt a fresh attraction to his grown sister as a woman.
- Source
- Ise Monogatari
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