Furusato no tabine no yume ni mietsuru wa urami ya suran mata to towaneba

English Translation

Those from my old home
who came into my dreams
sleeping on the road—
might they bear a grudge toward me,
since I have not written again?

Meaning

The people of my old home appeared in my dream as I slept on the road. Could they resent me, since I have sent them no word again?

Commentary

Book Ten Travel Poems 912

Headnote: "Composed when, attending the Teiji-in in the days after he took the tonsure and traveled in ascetic practice among mountains and temples, the company composed poems at a place called Hine in Izumi Province."
This is the third of a sequence of poems on lodging for the night on a journey. The speaker wonders whether the people of his old home appeared in his dream on the road because they resent him for sending no word. According to the headnote, it was composed while attending the ordained Teiji-in on his ascetic travels among mountains and temples, when the company composed poems at Hine in Izumi Province.
The author, Tachibana no Yoshitoshi, was an official of the early Heian period who served Emperor Uda and took holy orders himself when the emperor did. The "Teiji-in" of the headnote is the Retired Emperor Uda.
The scene is the journey of Retired Emperor Uda's ascetic practice, at Hine in Izumi Province.
The direct occasion is the gathering at Hine where the company composed poems.
The poem also appears in Section 2 of The Tales of Yamato as a poem by Yoshitoshi, who attended the Retired Emperor on his ascetic travels.

The first line, "furusato no," means "of my old home," showing that the one who appeared in the traveler's dream is someone from home.
The second line, "tabine no yume ni," means "in my dream as I slept on the road." Taking up "tabine ya suran" in the preceding poem, it moves to a dream on a night of travel.
The third line, "mietsuru wa," means "that they appeared." Since it was held that someone who thinks of you appears in your dreams, he takes the appearance as a sign that they think of him. Where 904 laments "yume ni mo hito ni awanu," here someone from home does appear, and seeing or not seeing someone in dreams forms a pair.
The fourth line, "urami ya suran," means "might they resent me?" The particle "ya" is answered by "ran" in the attributive form. The thoughts strong enough to bring them into his dream are guessed to be resentful ones.
The last line, "mata to towaneba," means "since I have not written again." The realis form with "ba" gives the reason. Where 908 resents someone who sends no word, closing with "tou o kikaneba," this poem is from one who sends no word and fears he is resented, and with the same "-neba" ending, the one who resents and the one resented are reversed.

Author

Tachibana no Yoshitoshi

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other