うつつにはさもこそあらめ夢にさへ
人目をよくと見るがわびしさ
人目をよくと見るがわびしさ
- Roma-ji
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Utsutsu ni wa samo koso arame yume ni sae hitome o yoku to miru ga wabishisa
- English Translation
-
In waking life
it may well have to be so,
but even in dreams
to see you shunning others’ eyes,
ah, how desolate it is
- Meaning
- In waking life, I suppose it cannot be helped; but to see you avoiding others' eyes even in my dreams, how desolate that is.
- Commentary
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Book Thirteen Love Poems III 656
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
It cannot be helped that the beloved avoids others' eyes in waking life, the poet says, but it is painful to see it even in dreams. It expresses the loneliness of a wish, to meet freely at least in dreams, betrayed.
The author, recorded as Komachi, 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.
From this poem, three dream poems by Komachi follow. The contrast between dream and reality also connects with Komachi's dream poems beginning with poem 552 in Book Twelve.
The first line, "utsutsu ni wa," means "in reality," pairing with "in dreams" in the third line.
The second line, "samo koso arame," means "that may well be so," closing the koso construction with me, the realis of the conjectural mu, and turning adversatively, with a pause after the second line.
The third line, "yume ni sae," means "even in dreams," with sae marking addition.
The fourth line, "hitome o yoku to," means "avoiding others' eyes."
The final line, "miru ga wabishisa," means "how desolate to see it," ending on the noun wabishisa.
- Author
- Ono no Komachi
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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Kagiri naki omoi no mama ni yoru mo komu yumeji o sae ni hito wa togameji