Amanogawa sora ni kienishi funade ni wa ware zo masarite kesa wa kanashiki

English Translation

The River of Heaven—
than the boat that sailed away
and vanished in the sky,
more than theirs, it is my grief
that is deeper this morning.

Meaning

More than the parting of the boat that vanished into the sky across the River of Heaven, it is I whose sorrow is the greater this morning.

Commentary

Book Nine Parting Poems 873

Headnote: "When my aged parent went down to Tsukushi on the seventh day of the seventh month, I thought of how far apart we would be, and at dawn on the eighth I sent this after him to the place where he boarded the ship."
This is the third poem of the sequence on partings from those setting out on distant journeys. The speaker says that her sorrow this morning at parting from her aged parent bound for Tsukushi surpasses the parting of the boat that vanished across the River of Heaven as the Tanabata night gave way to dawn. According to the headnote, her aged parent left for Tsukushi on the seventh day of the seventh month, and thinking of how far apart they would be, she sent the poem at dawn on the eighth to the place where he boarded the ship.
The author was a lady-in-waiting of the mid-Heian period.
The scene is dawn on the eighth day of the seventh month, and the place is where her parent boarded the ship for Tsukushi.
The direct occasion was her aged parent's departure for Tsukushi on the seventh day of the seventh month.
The seventh day of the seventh month is Tanabata, when the Herdboy and Weaver Maid stars, separated by the River of Heaven, were believed to meet once a year, and in waka the Herdboy was said to cross the river by boat.

The first line, "amanogawa," is the River of Heaven of Tanabata, taking up the seventh day of the seventh month in the headnote.
The second line, "sora ni kienishi," means "that vanished in the sky," formed from "ni," the continuative form of the perfective auxiliary "nu," and "shi," the attributive form of the past auxiliary "ki." It shows the boat of the two stars, their meeting over, disappearing into the dawn sky.
The third line, "funade ni wa," means "compared with that sailing," with "ni wa" marking the standard of comparison. The parting boat on the River of Heaven is laid over the ship carrying her parent to Tsukushi.
The fourth line, "ware zo masarite," means "I surpass them," the particle "zo" strongly singling out her own grief.
The last line, "kesa wa kanashiki," closes in the attributive form "kanashiki" in response to "zo." This morning is the dawn of the eighth in the headnote, and the thought is that parting from an aged parent, with no promise of meeting again, is sadder than the parting of stars who may meet once a year. Where 871 is sent by a parent to a departing child, this poem is sent by a child to a departing parent, so the roles of parent and child are reversed.

Author

Kaga no Saemon

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other