Nezame suru mi o fukitōsu kaze no oto o mukashi wa sode no yoso ni kikiken

English Translation

As I lie awake,
the sound of the wind that blows
right through my body—
in the past, far from my sleeves,
I must have heard it unmoved.

Meaning

The sound of the wind that blows right through me as I lie awake in the night—in the past I must have heard it as something far removed from my sleeves.

Commentary

Book Eight Lament Poems 783

Headnote: "At a time when I was grieving, left behind by Prince Tametaka, Governor of the Board of Censors."
This is the ninth poem of the sequence remembering the dead through the things of autumn. It says that in the past she must have heard the sound of the wind that blows through her as she lies awake as something that had nothing to do with her sleeves. According to the headnote, it dates from the time when she was grieving after Prince Tametaka, Governor of the Board of Censors, had died before her.
A daughter of Ōe no Masamune, the author became the wife of Tachibana no Michisada, Governor of Izumi, and later served Jōtōmon'in. "Prince Tametaka, Governor of the Board of Censors" was a son of Emperor Reizei who was in a love affair with the author, and he died in Chōhō 4 (1002). The Governor of the Board of Censors was the head of the office that investigated misconduct among officials.
The scene is a sleepless night after Prince Tametaka's death, and the place is not recorded.
The direct occasion is her grief at being left behind by Prince Tametaka.

The first line, "nezame suru," means "waking in the night." It speaks of nights without sleep because of grief.
The second line, "mi o fukitōsu," says that the wind pierces through the body. Because of her grief, the wind strikes her as never before.
In the third line, "kaze no oto o," "o" links to "kikiken" in the last line. The sound of the wind blowing through her conveys the loneliness of the sleepless night.
In the fourth line, "mukashi wa sode no," "mukashi" is the time when Prince Tametaka was alive. The sleeves are set down as what receives tears.
In the last line, "yoso ni kikiken," "sode no yoso" means a place having nothing to do with the sleeves, so that in the past, hearing the sound of the wind never wet her sleeves with tears. "Ken" is past conjecture, meaning "I must have heard it." By contrast with the past, it shows that now the same sound of the wind draws tears. Taking up "mukashi no aki" in the preceding poem, 782, it compares past and present, and "sode nurasu" in the next poem, 784, follows as though turning this "sode no yoso" inside out.

Author

Izumi Shikibu

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other