浦人の潮くむ袖に比べ見よ
波路へだつる夜の衣を
波路へだつる夜の衣を
- Roma-ji
-
Urabito no shio kumu sode ni kurabe mi yo
namiji hedatsuru yoru no koromo o - English Translation
-
Set it beside the
sleeve of the shore man who draws
the brine, and compare:
this night robe of mine, with all
the sea-road lying between
- Meaning
- Compare it with the sleeve of the shore man drawing brine—this night robe of mine, with the whole sea-road between us.
- Commentary
-
Part One: Suma
Since his letter had been written with great care, Murasaki no Ue's reply was full of feeling, and this poem was part of it. The colors and the making of what she sent were beautiful, and everything so well judged that Genji wished all the more that he could have watched her grow up in a settled life. Her face was with him day and night, and he even thought of sending for her in secret.
"Urabito" is one who lives by the shore—Genji at Suma. "The sleeve that draws brine" is wet from the work. "Namiji" is the sea-road, the distance between them. "The robe of night" is bedding, long used for sleeping together. Taking over his coastal vocabulary, she turns it into a challenge—compare the tears—and states the suffering of the one who waits.
- Author
- Murasaki Shikibu
- Source
- Genji Monogatari
- Prev Poem
-
Ura ni taku ama dani tsutsumu koi nareba
kuyuru keburi yo yukukata zo naki - Next Poem
-
Ukime karu Ise o no ama o omoiyare
moshio taru chō Suma no ura nite