目には見て手にはとられぬ月のうちの
桂のごとき君にぞありける
桂のごとき君にぞありける
- Roma-ji
-
Me ni wa mite te ni wa torarenu tsuki no uchi no
katsura no gotoki kimi ni zo arikeru - English Translation
-
Seen with my own eyes,
Yet never held in my hands—
Like the moon’s laurel
That stands within the bright moon,
So indeed are you to me.
- Meaning
- Though I can see you with my own eyes, I cannot take you into my hands. You are like the laurel tree said to stand within the moon.
- Commentary
-
73. Seen with My Own Eyes
There was a woman whose situation he knew, yet he could not even send her a letter.
The poem was composed by the man as he thought of her.
A similar poem appears in the "Mutual Love Poems" section of Book Four of the : "Though I see her with my eyes, I cannot take her in my hands—like the laurel within the moon, what shall I do with such a beloved?"
Women who had entered the court as imperial consorts, or who served as Saigū or Saiin, were in positions where their whereabouts were known but they were not people with whom one could freely correspond or exchange letters. The woman the man longs for is likely someone in such a special position.
The "laurel within the moon" refers to a Chinese legend that a laurel tree grows within the moon.
- Source
- Ise Monogatari
- Other
-
- If you long for me, Then come and see me yourself— For it is no path That even the mighty gods Forbid us to follow.
- The pines of Ōyodo Are not cruel at heart— Yet like the returning waves, That come only to the shore And turn back in resentment.
- Not a mountain range Where one treads on rocky roots Climbing peak on peak— Yet so many days pass by Without meeting, and I long.
- At Ōyodo’s shore Where the miru seaweed grows— Only seeing it, My heart grows calm and gentle, Though no words are spoken.