夏草の上は茂れる沼水の
ゆくかたのなきわが心かな
ゆくかたのなきわが心かな
- Roma-ji
-
Natsukusa no ue wa shigereru numamizu no yuku kata no naki waga kokoro kana
- English Translation
-
Like the marsh water
with summer grasses growing
thick above its face,
having nowhere it can go—
such is this heart of mine.
- Meaning
- Like the water of a marsh whose surface is covered by thick summer grasses, my heart has nowhere at all to go.
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Names of Things 462
Headnote: "Katano"
This poem sighs that the speaker's heart, like marsh water under thick summer grass, has nowhere to go. The place name "Katano" is hidden in "yuku kata no" in the fourth line. The image of the marsh water in the upper verse conveys the stifling sense of a heart that can find no outlet. Katano is a place in Kawachi Province, known as an imperial hunting ground.
The poet, "Tadamine," is Mibu no Tadamine, one of the compilers of the Kokinshu. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets and was the father of Mibu no Tadami.
First line "Natsukusa no" means "the summer grasses," beginning the scene of a covered marsh.
Second line "ue wa shigereru" means "growing thick above," with "ru" the attributive of the continuative auxiliary "ri."
Third line "numamizu no" refers to marsh water that never flows out, and the upper verse acts as a preface leading into the fourth line.
Fourth line "yuku kata no naki" means "having nowhere to go," and "kata no" hides the place name "Katano."
Fifth line "waga kokoro kana" closes with a sigh: such is my heart.
- Author
- Mibu no Tadamine
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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Ashihiki no yamabe ni oreba shirakumo no ika ni seyo to ka haruru toki naki
- Next Poem
-
Aki kureba tsuki no katsura no mi ya wa naru hikari o hana to chirasu bakari o