青柳のいと乱れたるこのころは
一筋にしも思ひよられじ
一筋にしも思ひよられじ
- Roma-ji
-
Aoyagi no ito midaretaru kono koro wa hitosuji ni shimo omoiyorareji
- English Translation
-
The green willow's threads
are so tangled and disordered
in these days of rain,
surely you could not devote
your thoughts to one strand alone.
- Meaning
- In these days when the green willow's threads are so tangled, your heart too is divided; surely you cannot think of me alone, along a single strand.
- Commentary
-
Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 1251
Headnote: "Reply."
This is the fourth poem of the sequence of exchanges among members of the court, a reply to the preceding poem. In these days when the willow threads are so tangled, she answers, surely you cannot turn your thoughts to me alone.
The author, "Consort Fujiwara no Seishi," was a daughter of Fujiwara no Norimichi; she became a consort of Emperor Go-Suzaku and was called the Umetsubo Consort.
The first line, "aoyagi no," takes up "aoyagi no," the third line of the preceding poem, unchanged.
In the second line, "ito midaretaru," "ito" is a pivot word meaning both the willow's "threads" and "very much." Answering "itodo midarete" in the preceding poem, she turns the tangled threads into the Emperor's heart divided among many consorts.
The third line, "kono koro wa," refers to these days, after the Reikeiden Consort has entered the palace.
In the fourth line, "hitosuji ni shimo," "hitosuji," a single strand, is an associated word for thread and means "single-mindedly." "Shimo" is emphatic, setting one strand against the tangled threads.
In the last line, "omoiyorareji," "ji" is a negative conjecture: "you will surely not turn your thoughts to me alone." She gently deflects the Emperor's declaration of longing, mindful of the other consort.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Seishi
- Source
- Shin Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Harusame no furishiku koro ka aoyagi no itodo midarete hito zo koishiki
- Next Poem
-
Aoyagi no ito wa katagata nabiku tomo omoisometemu iro wa kawaraji