Izuku ni ka koyoi wa yado o karigoromo himo yūgure no mine no arashi ni

English Translation

Where, oh where tonight
shall I borrow a lodging,
in hunting robes,
the day, like its cords, tied to dusk,
as the storm blows from the peaks?

Meaning

Where shall I borrow lodging tonight, in my traveling robe, now that the day, like the cords I tie, has drawn to dusk and a storm blows down from the peaks?

Commentary

Book Ten Travel Poems 952

Headnote: "Composed on the topic 'A storm at dusk on a journey' at a poetry contest held at the residence of the Regent and Chancellor."
This is the third of a sequence of poems on the road at nightfall and lodging for the night. As the day ends and a storm blows from the peaks, the speaker wonders where to borrow lodging for the night, the mind of a traveler seeking shelter in the mountains at dusk. According to the headnote, it was composed on the topic "A storm at dusk on a journey" at a poetry contest held at the residence of the Regent and Chancellor.
The author, "Teika Ason," is Fujiwara no Teika. A son of Fujiwara no Shunzei, he was a poet of the early Kamakura period and one of the compilers of the Shin Kokin Wakashū.
The scene is dusk on a journey, on a road at the foot of peaks from which a storm blows down.
The direct occasion is composing on the topic "A storm at dusk on a journey" at a poetry contest held at the residence of Regent and Chancellor Fujiwara no Yoshitsune.

The first line, "izuku ni ka," means "where?" The particle "ka" poses a question, showing the traveler's uncertainty in seeking lodging. Its closing flows into the pivot word "kari" and is omitted.
The second line, "koyoi wa yado o," means "lodging for tonight." Following "yado ya karamashi" in 905 and "yado o karuran" in the preceding poem, borrowing lodging is sung of again.
In the third line, "karigoromo," "kari" carries both "kari," to borrow lodging, and "karigoromo," a hunting robe. The hunting robe is travel wear and is associated with "himo," cords, in the next line.
In the fourth line, "himo yūgure no," "himo" carries both "himo," the cords of the robe, and "hi mo," "the day too," while "yū" carries both "yū," to tie the cords, and "yū," evening. Linking robe, cords, and tying as associated words, it turns to the hour of nightfall.
The last line, "mine no arashi ni," means "in the storm from the peaks." By inversion the reason for seeking lodging comes last. Where the preceding poem worries over a traveler's lodging from the viewer's side, here the traveler himself seeks lodging, and the positions of viewer and traveler are exchanged once more.

Author

Fujiwara no Teika

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other