Not that I saw you,
Yet not that I saw you not—
Still you are dear to me;
Without cause today perhaps
I gaze on and pass the day.
- Meaning
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It is not that I did not see you, yet neither did I clearly see you. Still I long for you, and today perhaps I will spend the whole day gazing in that direction for no reason.
- Commentary
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99. Not That I Did Not See
On a day when a trial of horseback archery was held at Ukon no Baba, there was a woman in a carriage on the opposite side. Her face could faintly be seen through the gap in the bamboo blind.
The poem was composed and sent by a man who was a Middle Captain after he saw this.
It is a frank poem of courtship, saying that because of a woman he did not even clearly see, he has become so concerned with her that he cannot do anything all day.
The Middle Captain was Ariwara no Narihira.
- Source
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Ise Monogatari
- Other
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