ひとりして物を思へば秋の夜の
稲葉のそよといふ人のなき
稲葉のそよといふ人のなき
- Roma-ji
-
Hitori shite mono o omoeba aki no yo no inaba no soyo to iu hito no naki
- English Translation
-
When all alone
I sit brooding over love,
like rice leaves rustling
in the autumn night, there is none
who says to me, "So it is."
- Meaning
- When I brood over love all alone, there is no one to say "So it is" to me, as the rice leaves rustle softly on an autumn night.
- Commentary
-
Book Twelve Love Poems II 584
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet says that though he broods over love alone on an autumn night, there is no one who answers "So it is," as the rice leaves rustle. Soyo carries both the rustling sound of rice leaves and "so it is," words of agreement, portraying the loneliness of having no one to talk with amid the stillness of an autumn night. In this part of the book, poems that bring in autumn images are gathered together.
Ōshikōchi no Mitsune was a poet of the early Heian period and one of the compilers of the Kokinshū. He held low provincial posts such as Junior Clerk of Kai and Senior Secretary of Izumi, but his poetic talent was highly regarded. He is one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.
First line, "hitori shite": alone, by oneself.
Second line, "mono o omoeba": mono o omou is to brood over love, and ba marks a condition: "when I brood."
Third line, "aki no yo no": from the third line through "inaba no" in the fourth line forms a preface, leading from the sound of rice leaves to soyo.
Fourth line, "inaba no soyo to": soyo is a pun on the rustling of rice leaves in the wind and "so it is," words of agreement.
Fifth line, "iu hito no naki": "there is no one who says so," closing on the attributive naki and leaving a lingering tone. Poem 560 of this book likewise ends with "hito no naki," and the two echo each other in singing of the loneliness of having no one who understands.
- Author
- Oshikochi no Mitsune
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Aki no no ni midarete sakeru hana no iro no chigusa ni mono o omou koro kana
- Next Poem
-
Hito o omou kokoro wa kari ni aranedomo kumoi ni nomi mo nakiwataru kana