秋の夜も名のみなりけり逢ふといへば
ことぞともなく明けぬるものを
ことぞともなく明けぬるものを
- Roma-ji
-
Aki no yo mo na nomi narikeri au to ieba koto zo to mo naku akenuru mono o
- English Translation
-
The long autumn night
is long in name alone,
for when we two meet,
without a moment's notice
it has already turned to dawn
- Meaning
- The autumn night, famed for its length, is long in name only; when we meet, it slips into dawn before anything has even happened.
- Commentary
-
Book Thirteen Love Poems III 635
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
Autumn nights are said to be long, but that is in name only, the poet says; a night spent with a lover ends before anything has happened. Turning the commonplace of long autumn nights on its head, the poem laments the brevity of a night of meeting.
The author, whose name is written in kana in the text, is Ono no Komachi. She is said to have served at court in the reigns of Emperors Ninmyo and Montoku, and is counted among the Six Poetic Immortals and the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.
The next poem, by Mitsune, follows as if in answer, saying that whether an autumn night is long or short depends on whom one meets, and the two form a pair.
The first line, "aki no yo mo," means "the autumn night too, reputed to be long," with mo implying "like other nights."
The second line, "na nomi narikeri," means "is in name only," with the exclamatory keri of realization, and a pause after the second line.
The third line, "au to ieba," means "when it comes to meeting," setting a condition.
The fourth line, "koto zo to mo naku," means "without anything in particular," expressing that nothing seemed to happen.
The final line, "akenuru mono o," means "for it dawns so quickly," closing with the perfective nu and the exclamatory mono o, giving the reason after the second line in inverted order.
- Author
- Ono no Komachi
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Koi koite mare ni koyoi zo ausaka no yūtsukedori wa nakazu mo aranamu
- Next Poem
-
Nagashi tomo omoi zo hatenu mukashi yori au hito kara no aki no yo nareba