Karisome no wakare to kyō o omoedomo isa ya makoto no tabi ni mo aruramu

English Translation

Only for a while,
so I think of this parting
on this day, and yet—
who can say?—it may become
a journey true and final.

Meaning

I tell myself today's parting is only for a while, and yet, who can say, it may prove to be a journey in truth.

Commentary

Book Nine Parting Poems 881

Headnote: "Composed on the heart of parting."
This is the third poem of the sequence on partings where the time of return cannot be promised. The speaker tries to think of today's parting as brief, yet fears it may prove a true journey. According to the headnote, it was composed on the topic of the heart of parting.
The author was a son of Minamoto no Toshiyori, became a monk of Tōdaiji, and made his residence in Shirakawa, named the Karin'en, a gathering place for poets.
The scene is today's parting, and the place is not recorded.
The direct occasion was composition on the topic "the heart of parting."

The first line, "karisome no," means "brief" or "only for the moment." Poem 889 begins with the same first line, and the wish to regard a parting as brief is sung more than once.
The second line, "wakare to kyō o," marks today as the day of parting.
The third line, "omoedomo," means "though I think," the concession showing that what he tells himself begins to waver. It is the same word as the first line of 879 and the third line of 870.
In the fourth line, "isa ya makoto no," "isa ya" means "who can say," expressing uncertainty. "Makoto," "true," pairs with "karisome," "brief," in the first line.
The last line, "tabi ni mo aruramu," means "might it be a journey," the conjectural "ramu" expressing unease. Through the contrast of brief and true, it suggests a foreboding that the parting may become permanent. Where the preceding poem speaks of being unable to promise because of a sudden parting, this poem finds unease even in a parting one thinks of as brief.

Author

Shun'e

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other