恋ひわびぬ海人の刈る藻にやどるてふ
我から身をもくだきつるかな
我から身をもくだきつるかな
- Roma-ji
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Koiwabinu ama no karu mo ni yadoru chō
warekara mi o mo kudakitsuru kana - English Translation
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Worn out by longing love,
Like the "self-from" creature said
To dwell in cut seaweed,
I have shattered even this
Body of mine, by my own will.
- Meaning
- Worn down by love, like the so-called "self-from" creature that dwells in the seaweed cut by fishermen, I have shattered even my own body because of feelings that arise from myself.
- Commentary
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57. Worn Out by Longing Love
A certain man suffered from a love he kept hidden in his heart. He sent this poem to the one who remained cold and would not respond to him at all.
While saying that his painful one-sided love is caused by his own uncontrollable feelings, he cannot help but wish that she would understand. Such feelings are expressed here. That he sent the poem, unable to restrain himself, may reveal the heart of a man who still cannot give her up and longs for her to turn toward him.
"Self-from" (warekara) refers to a small crustacean that lives in seaweed. As it dries, its shell splits apart, and from this it takes its name. The word also carries the meaning "from oneself," forming a pun.
- Source
- Ise Monogatari
- Other
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- You may well remain Without thinking of me now— So it might indeed; Yet at every passing word, I find myself trusting still.
- 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.
- How desolate it stands— Alas, for how many ages Has this been a dwelling? Of the one who once lived here, There is not even a visit.
- Overgrown with mugwort, In this desolate dwelling, What makes it fearful Is that, even for a time, Demons come swarming here.