寝る夢にうつつの憂さも忘られて
思ひなぐさむほどぞはかなき
思ひなぐさむほどぞはかなき
- Roma-ji
-
Nuru yume ni utsutsu no usa mo wasurarete omoi nagusamu hodo zo hakanaki
- English Translation
-
In the dreams of sleep
even the sorrows of the waking
world are forgotten;
yet how fleeting is the time
in which my heart finds its ease
- Meaning
- In the dreams of sleep I forget even the sorrows of waking life and find comfort; yet how brief that comfort is.
- Commentary
-
Book Fifteen Love Poems V 1384
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the fifth poem of the dream sequence. In dreams the sorrows of waking life are forgotten and the heart is comforted, but that time is all too fleeting. The headnote gives no topic, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author, "Consort Princess Kishi," was Kishi, a daughter of Prince Shigeakira, son of Emperor Daigo. After serving as Ise Priestess she became a consort of Emperor Murakami and was called the Priestess Consort.
The first line, "nuru yume ni," means "in the dreams of sleep."
In the second line, "utsutsu no usa mo," "utsutsu" refers to reality, the waking state. Dream and reality are set against each other.
In the third line, "wasurarete," "rare" is spontaneous: "they are forgotten of themselves."
The fourth line, "omoi nagusamu," means "the heart is comforted."
The last line, "hodo zo hakanaki," closes the kakari-musubi of "zo" with the attributive "hakanaki." Where the preceding poem sought to trust in the dream, this one looks squarely at the fleetingness of the dream's comfort, setting hope in dreams beside a clear-eyed awareness.
- Author
- Princess Kishi
- Source
- Shin Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Haru no yo no yume no shirushi wa tsuraku tomo mishi bakari dani araba tanoman
- Next Poem
-
Kaku bakari nede akashitsuru haru no yo ni ikani mietsuru yume ni ka aruran