別るれど嬉しくもあるか今宵より
相見ぬ先に何を恋ひまし
相見ぬ先に何を恋ひまし
- Roma-ji
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Wakaruredo ureshiku mo aru ka koyoi yori aiminu saki ni nani o koimashi
- English Translation
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Though we part tonight,
how glad I am as well!
Before this evening,
before we ever met,
what was there to long for?
- Meaning
- Though we must part, how glad I am! Before this night, before we met, what was there in the world for me to long for?
- Commentary
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Book Eight Parting Poems 399
Headnote: "Composed when parting from Prince Kanemi after conversing with him for the first time"
This poem was composed on parting after conversing with Prince Kanemi for the first time. Parting is sad, yet the poet is glad that tonight's meeting has given him someone to long for; before they met, what was there to long for? He paradoxically expresses the joy of meeting in the very moment of parting.
The author, "Mitsune," was Ōshikōchi no Mitsune, one of the compilers of the Kokinshū.
The first line, "though we part tonight," uses the concessive do, taking up the sorrow of parting only to turn to joy. In calling parting a cause for gladness rather than grief, it is a poem of unusual conceit within this book.
The second line, "how glad I am as well!" uses the exclamatory ka to express heartfelt joy, and the poem breaks after this line.
The third line, "before this evening," uses yori for comparison, meaning before meeting tonight, and continues into the fourth line.
The fourth line, "before we ever met," means before seeing each other, pointing to the time before the encounter. Following poems 397 and 398, three poems concerning Prince Kanemi stand together.
The last line, "what was there to long for?" uses mashi with a sense of hesitation, looking back on the emptiness of the heart before they met.
- Author
- Oshikochi no Mitsune
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Oshimu ramu hito no kokoro o shiranu ma ni aki no shigure to mi zo furinikeru
- Next Poem
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Akazu shite wakaruru sode no shiratama o kimi ga katami to tsutsumite zo yuku