みちのくにありといふなる名取川
なき名取りては苦しかりけり
なき名取りては苦しかりけり
- Roma-ji
-
Michinoku ni ari to iu naru natorigawa naki na torite wa kurushikarikeri
- English Translation
-
Like the Natori River
that they say is found
in far Michinoku,
to bear a name I have not earned
has proved a bitter thing
- Meaning
- Like the Natori River, said to flow in distant Michinoku, whose very name means "taking a name," to be saddled with a rumor I have not earned has proved so painful.
- Commentary
-
Book Thirteen Love Poems III 628
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
Borrowing the name of the Natori River in Michinoku, the poet laments being the subject of groundless rumors. The upper verse, naming the river, is a preface leading to natori, "to take on a name," and the distant poetic place conveys gossip that cannot be warded off.
The author, recorded as Tadamine, is Mibu no Tadamine. He was one of the compilers of the Kokinshu and is counted among the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.
Poems on "groundless rumor" continue for the next three, and this one stands at the head of that group. Poem 650 in this book also names the Natori River, fearing there that love will come to light like sunken logs surfacing.
The first line, "michinoku ni," means "in the province of Michinoku," a distant land in the east.
The second line, "ari to iu naru," means "said to be there," with naru, the hearsay auxiliary, showing a place known only by report.
The third line, "natorigawa," is a famed poetic place in Michinoku; up to here the lines form a preface leading to natori.
The fourth line, "naki na torite wa," means "taking on a groundless name," catching the sound of the river's name.
The final line, "kurushikarikeri," closes with the exclamatory keri, the realization that it is painful.
- Author
- Mibu no Tadamine
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Kanete yori kaze ni sakidatsu nami nare ya au koto naki ni madaki tatsuramu
- Next Poem
-
Ayanakute madaki nakina no tatsutagawa watarade yamamu mono naranaku ni