習ひ来し誰が偽りもまだ知らで
待つとせしまの庭の蓬生
待つとせしまの庭の蓬生
- Roma-ji
-
Naraikoshi ta ga itsuwari mo mada shirade matsu to seshi ma no niwa no yomogiu
- English Translation
-
Not yet knowing whose
were the lies, the lies that men
have always told,
while I thought that I would wait,
mugwort overgrew the garden.
- Meaning
- Not yet knowing whose were the lies men have always told, I meant only to wait, and while I waited the garden became overgrown with mugwort.
- Commentary
-
Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 1285
Headnote: "For the Poetry Contest in Fifteen Hundred Rounds."
This is the first poem of the sequence on love unvisited in a neglected dwelling. While I meant to wait, not yet knowing whose were the lies men have always told, the speaker says, the garden became overgrown with mugwort. According to the headnote, it was submitted to the Poetry Contest in Fifteen Hundred Rounds.
The author, "Shunzei's Daughter, of the Master of the Empress Dowager's Household," is Shunzei's Daughter. A granddaughter of Fujiwara no Shunzei, Master of the Empress Dowager's Household, she was adopted as his daughter. She was the wife of Minamoto no Michitomo, author of 1276.
The first line, "naraikoshi," means "that have become customary." It shows that men's lies have long been thought commonplace.
The second line, "ta ga itsuwari mo," means "whose lies they were."
The third line, "mada shirade," means "not yet knowing." It shows a heart that knew lies were the way of the world but never thought they could be her own lover's.
The fourth line, "matsu to seshi ma no," means "of the time I meant to wait."
The last line, "niwa no yomogiu," ends on a noun. Taking up "yomogiu no yado," the last line of the preceding poem, it shows the length of the time spent waiting through the mugwort grown thick in the garden. Here begins the sequence on love unvisited in a neglected dwelling.
- Author
- Shunzei's Daughter
- Source
- Shin Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Matsuyama to chigirishi hito wa tsurenakute sode kosu nami ni nokoru tsukikage
- Next Poem
-
Ato taete asaji ga sue ni narinikeri tanomeshi yado no niwa no shiratsuyu