あやなくてまだきなき名のたつた川
渡らでやまむものならなくに
渡らでやまむものならなくに
- Roma-ji
-
Ayanakute madaki nakina no tatsutagawa watarade yamamu mono naranaku ni
- English Translation
-
For no good reason,
so soon a groundless rumor
rises like Tatsuta River,
though I am not one to stop
without crossing it at last
- Meaning
- For no reason at all, a baseless rumor has already risen, like the Tatsuta River, though it is not as if I mean to give up without ever crossing it.
- Commentary
-
Book Thirteen Love Poems III 629
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
Rumors have risen though the lovers have not yet met; yet the poet has no intention of stopping short without crossing the Tatsuta River, that is, without meeting. With tatsuta punning on "rise" and the river's name, crossing the river stands for love fulfilled. The poem laments the rumor while refusing to give up.
The author, whose name is written in kana in the text, is Miharu no Arisuke. He is said to have been a man of Kawachi Province and a retainer in the household of Fujiwara no Toshiyuki.
The first line, "ayanakute," means "without reason, senselessly."
The second line, "madaki nakina no," means "so soon a baseless rumor," taking up "groundless rumor" from the preceding poem.
The third line, "tatsutagawa," uses tatsu as a pivot word for "rise" and the Tatsuta River, a poetic place in Yamato.
The fourth line, "watarade yamamu," means "to end without crossing," overlaying fulfilled love on the crossing; "river" and "cross" are associated words.
The final line, "mono naranaku ni," means "though it is not so," closing in an inverted construction that answers the fourth line: he does not mean to end without meeting.
- Author
- Miharu no Arisuke
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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Michinoku ni ari to iu naru natorigawa naki na torite wa kurushikarikeri
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Hito wa isa ware wa nakina no oshikereba mukashi mo ima mo shirazu to o iwamu