玉くしげあけば君が名立ちぬべみ
夜深く来しを人見けむかも
夜深く来しを人見けむかも
- Roma-ji
-
Tamakushige akeba kimi ga na tachinubemi yobukaku koshi o hito mikemu kamo
- English Translation
-
Like a jeweled comb box
opened, dawn would raise your name
in whispered rumor,
so I left in the depth of night;
could someone still have seen me
- Meaning
- Had I waited for dawn, rumors of you would surely have spread, so I left while the night was still deep; yet might someone have seen me?
- Commentary
-
Book Thirteen Love Poems III 642
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
Knowing that leaving after daybreak would set rumors about her afloat, the poet left while it was still dark, yet worries whether someone saw him. It shows a care for the beloved's reputation over his own.
The author is recorded as anonymous, and the name has not come down to us.
The first line, "tamakushige," a beautiful box for combs, is a pillow word for ake, since a box is opened.
The second line, "akeba kimi ga na," uses ake as a pivot word for "open" and "dawn," meaning "if day should break."
The third line, "tachinubemi," means "since it would likely rise," with the suffix mi on the stem of beshi giving the reason.
The fourth line, "yobukaku koshi o," means "though I came away deep in the night."
The final line, "hito mikemu kamo," means "might someone have seen?" the past conjectural kemu and kamo expressing unease.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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