Urabito no himo yūgure ni narumigata kaeru sode yori chidori naku nari

English Translation

The day ties its cords,
evening falls for the shore folk
on Narumi's flats,
and from the sleeves of those going home
the cries of plovers rise

Meaning

As evening falls upon the shore folk at the flats of Narumi, the cries of plovers rise from about the sleeves of those making their way home.

Commentary

Book Six Winter Poems 650

Headnote: "The same place."
This is the tenth poem of the plover sequence. At the flats of Narumi, as the day turns to evening, plover cries rise from about the sleeves of the shore folk heading home. According to the headnote, it was composed for the same painting of the Bay of Narumi on the sliding panels of the Saishō Shitennō-in as the preceding poem.
The author, "Provisional Major Counselor Michiteru," is Minamoto no Michiteru. A son of the Palace Minister Minamoto no Michichika and a younger brother of Minamoto no Michitomo, he later rose to Chancellor.
The scene is evening, and the place is the tidal flats of Narumi in Owari Province.
As with the preceding poem, the direct occasion is composing a poem for the painting of the famous Bay of Narumi on the sliding panels of the Saishō Shitennō-in.

The first line, "urabito no," means "of the shore folk," those who live by the bay, such as fishermen.
In the second line, "himo yūgure ni," "himo" carries both "hi mo," the day too, and "himo," the cords of a robe, and since cords are "tied," "yū," the word leads into "yūgure," evening. It suggests the cords of the shore folk's robes while saying that the day has turned to evening.
In the third line, "narumigata," "naru" carries both "becoming" evening and the place name Narumi.
The fourth line, "kaeru sode yori," means "from about the sleeves of those going home." "Himo," cords, in the second line and "sode," sleeves, are associated words of clothing.
In the last line, "chidori naku nari," "nari" is an auxiliary that infers from sound. The poem joins human movement and plover cries in one scene: as the shore folk head home at evening, plovers cry out from about their sleeves. Composed for the same painted panel as the preceding poem, which sang in a lover's mood of plovers parted by the waves, this poem sings of plovers crying amid the daily life of the shore folk. Like 641 and 643 in this book, it closes with the last line "chidori naku nari."

Author

Minamoto no Michiteru

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other