今朝よりはいとどおもひを焚きまして
なげき樵り積むあふさかの山
なげき樵り積むあふさかの山
- Roma-ji
-
Kesa yori wa itodo omoi o takimashite nageki koritsumu ōsaka no yama
- English Translation
-
From this morning on
all the more I feed the fire
of my longing love,
cutting and stacking sorrow's wood
on the Mountain of Meeting
- Meaning
- From this morning, when we met at last, I feed the fire of longing all the more, cutting and stacking the firewood of sorrow on Ōsaka, the Mountain of Meeting.
- Commentary
-
Book Thirteen Love Poems III 1163
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
This is the first poem of a sequence on the feelings that follow a first meeting. From this morning, after the meeting, the fire of longing burns all the more, and sorrow is cut and stacked like firewood on Ōsaka, the Mountain of Meeting. The headnote gives no topic, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author, "Takakura-in," is Emperor Takakura. A son of Emperor Go-Shirakawa, his mother was Kenshunmon'in, Taira no Shigeko. He made Tokuko, daughter of Taira no Kiyomori, his empress and became the father of Emperor Antoku.
Mount Ōsaka is a famous poetic place on the border of Ōmi and Yamashiro provinces, where the Ōsaka Barrier stood. Its name, containing "au," "to meet," made it a frequent image in love poetry.
The first line, "kesa yori wa," means "from this morning on," the morning after the meeting. Taking up the "dream of a single night" of the preceding poem, time moves on to the morning after.
In the second line, "itodo omoi o," "omoi" is a pivot word meaning both "longing" and "fire" (hi). "Itodo" means "all the more."
The third line, "takimashite," means "feeding the fire more," an associated word taking up the "fire" of the second line. It shows longing burning all the higher because of the meeting.
In the fourth line, "nageki koritsumu," "nageki" is a pivot word meaning both "sorrow" and "nageki," firewood thrown on the fire. "Koritsumu" means cutting wood and stacking it, so that "fire," "feeding," "firewood," "cutting," and "mountain" are linked as associated words.
In the last line, "ōsaka no yama," "ōsaka" is a pivot word that joins the place name Ōsaka to "au," "to meet." The poem closes on a noun, presenting the paradox of piling up sorrow on the very mountain named for the joy of meeting.
- Author
- Emperor Takakura
- Source
- Shin Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Tsurakarishi ōku no toshi wa wasurarete hitoyo no yume o aware to zo mishi
- Next Poem
-
Ashi no ya no shizuhata obi no katamusubi kokoro yasuku mo uchitokuru kana