Chigiranedo hitoyo wa suginu kiyomigata nami ni wakaruru akatsuki no kumo

English Translation

Though we made no pledge,
a single night has passed us by;
at Kiyomigata
parting from the ocean waves,
the clouds of the breaking dawn.

Meaning

Though no vows were made, a single night has passed; at Kiyomigata, the dawn clouds part from the waves.

Commentary

Book Ten Travel Poems 969

Headnote: "A travel poem, when he presented a hundred-poem sequence."
This is the first of a sequence of poems on journeys along the sea. Though no vows were exchanged, a night has passed, and at Kiyomigata the dawn clouds part from the waves, a night spent on the road by the sea. According to the headnote, it is a travel poem composed when he presented a hundred-poem sequence.
The author, "Ietaka Ason," is Fujiwara no Ietaka. He was a poet of the early Kamakura period and one of the compilers of the Shin Kokin Wakashū.
The scene is dawn after a night on the road, at Kiyomigata in Suruga Province.
The direct occasion is composing on the travel topic when he presented a hundred-poem sequence to Retired Emperor Go-Toba.

The first line, "chigiranedo," means "though no vows were made." Following "chigiri nite" in 963 and "chigiruran" in 964, the word "chigiri" is sung of again.
The second line, "hitoyo wa suginu," means "a single night has passed." Closing with the perfective "nu," the poem breaks after this second line. Like "hitoyo bakari ni" in 961, it sings of a single night on the road.
The third line, "kiyomigata," is a famous place on the shore of Suruga, where the Kiyomi barrier stood.
The fourth line, "nami ni wakaruru," means "parting from the waves." The clouds drawing away from the sea at dawn are likened to lovers parting.
The last line, "akatsuki no kumo," means "the clouds of dawn," ending on a noun. A night on the road with no vows is painted as a lovers' parting at dawn between clouds and waves. From here poems on journeys along the sea follow.

Author

Fujiwara no Ietaka

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other