If true to its name,
Then Tawared Isle must be
But vain and inconstant—
They say it wears, as a robe,
The wet sleeves of the waves.
- Meaning
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If it truly bears its name, then Tawared Island must indeed be a place of inconstancy. Yet they say it merely wears the waves’ wet sleeves as a robe—like a false rumor that has no real cause.
- Commentary
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61. The River of Dyeing
When a certain man traveled as far as Tsukushi in northern Kyushu, he heard a woman speaking from behind a lowered bamboo blind in an inner room: "This man is said to be a refined person with many affections, one who loves women."
This poem is the woman’s reply to the man’s poem, "Should one cross the stream called the River of Dyeing, how could it be so that no color would cling to the person passing through?" which he composed after being called a lover of women.
Taware Island lies near the mouth of the Midori River in present-day Kumamoto Prefecture and is also called Hadaka Island. Like the man’s poem, this verse also makes use of a place name. It suggests that there is no true causal relation between a name and its nature—in other words, the man did not become fond of women merely because he crossed the River of Dyeing, but was already such a person by nature.
Fukuoka had long prospered as a center of trade, with frequent travel to and from the capital, so its standards of life and culture were high. Rumors from the capital would easily have reached the ears of the women there.
- Source
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Ise Monogatari
- Other
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