わが袖は草の庵にあらねども
暮るれば露のやどりなりけり
暮るれば露のやどりなりけり
- Roma-ji
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Waga sode wa kusa no io ni aranedomo
kurureba tsuyu no yadori narikeri - English Translation
-
Though these sleeves of mine
Are no hut of woven grass,
When evening falls down,
They become a lodging place
Where the dewdrops come to rest.
- Meaning
- My sleeves are no hut thatched with grass, yet when evening falls they become a dwelling where the dewdrops come to rest.
- Commentary
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56. Though These Sleeves of Mine
A certain man, as he lay down to sleep, turned his thoughts over and over; rising again, he continued to brood, always thinking, until at last he composed this poem.
“Grass hut” and “lodging of dew” are linked expressions, for dew is conventionally said to rest upon the grass.
Here the dew is used in a personified way, as though it lodges even in a hut.
Most likely, thinking of the one he longs for, the man soaks his sleeves with tears, like dew that comes to rest upon a grass hut.
- Source
- Ise Monogatari
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