おきのゐて身をやくよりもかなしきは
みやこしまべの別れなりけり
みやこしまべの別れなりけり
- Roma-ji
-
Oki no ite mi o yaku yori mo kanashiki wa
miyakoshimabe no wakare narikeri - English Translation
-
More than burning coals
That cling and burn upon me,
What is more sorrow—
Is the parting that must be
By the shore of Miyakojima.
- Meaning
- More painful even than burning coals clinging to the body is the sorrow of parting with you by the shore of Miyakojima.
- Commentary
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115. Burning Coals
A man and a woman were living together in the Ōu region. When the man said that he wished to return to the capital, the woman became deeply sorrowful. At least wishing to hold a farewell banquet, she arranged a gathering at a distant embankment by the sea, at a place called Miyakojima.
The poem was composed by the woman as she served the man wine.
In former times, even when a man from the capital married a local woman, the woman was often unable to go up to the capital with him and was left behind when they parted. This poem expresses the woman’s sorrow at such a farewell.
- Source
- Ise Monogatari
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Namima yori miyuru kojima no hamabisashi
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