色変はる袖をば露の宿りにて
わが身ぞさらに置き所なき
わが身ぞさらに置き所なき
- Roma-ji
-
Iro kawaru sode o ba tsuyu no yadori nite
waga mi zo sara ni okidokoro naki - English Translation
-
These altered sleeves are
the lodging that the dew takes,
and beyond even
that, this body of mine has
nowhere at all to be set
- Meaning
- My altered sleeves are the lodging the dew takes; beyond that, this body of mine has nowhere at all to rest.
- Commentary
-
Part Three: Shiigamoto
Oigimi's reply to Kaoru's condolence. She conveys the helplessness of two sisters who have lost the one who stood behind them, in the figure of dew that has nowhere to settle. Kaoru saw her quality in the answer, and his feeling grew beyond the promise of guardianship.
The altered sleeves take up the mourning dress of his poem. Tsuyu no yadori is the place where dew is set, meaning sleeves soaked with tears. Okidokoro nashi uses oku, to settle, which belongs with dew, and turns it into having nowhere to put oneself. Following the words that belong with dew, a poem of condolence deepens into a lament over her own condition.
- Author
- Murasaki Shikibu
- Source
- Genji Monogatari
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Iro kawaru asaji o mite mo sumizome ni
yatsururu sode o omoi koso yare - Next Poem
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Akigiri no harenu kumoi ni itodoshiku
kono yo o kari to ii shirasuramu