駿河なる田子の浦波立たぬ日は
あれども君を恋ひぬ日はなし
あれども君を恋ひぬ日はなし
- Roma-ji
-
Suruga naru Tago no uranami tatanu hi wa aredomo kimi o koinu hi wa nashi
- English Translation
-
In Suruga lies
the bay of Tago, whose waves
may some days lie still
but there is never a day
that I do not long for you
- Meaning
- There may be days when no waves rise in Tago Bay in Suruga, but there is never a day when I do not long for you.
- Commentary
-
Book Eleven Love Poems I 489
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Invoking the waves that come ashore at Tago Bay in Suruga, the poem declares that though there may be days without waves, there is never a day without longing for the beloved. By comparison it stresses a love even more unceasing than the ever-returning waves of the bay. Its simple, forceful expression carries the cadence of old songs.
First line, "In Suruga lies": Suruga naru means located in Suruga Province. Poem 534 of this book also sings of Suruga, in "Mount Fuji in Suruga."
Second line, "the bay of Tago, whose waves": the waves of Tago Bay, a poetic place in Suruga.
Third line, "may some days lie still": tatanu hi wa means days when the waves do not rise.
Fourth line, "but there is never a day": aredomo kimi wo, "though there may be, you," is the turning point that sets the waves against the poet's love.
Fifth line, "that I do not long for you": koinu hi wa nashi means there is no day without longing. It shares its construction with the last line of poem 487 of this book, "there is no day I do not hold you in my heart," the two placed as poems of unceasing love.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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