夢路には足も休めず通へども
うつつに一目見しことはあらず
うつつに一目見しことはあらず
- Roma-ji
-
Yumeji ni wa ashi mo yasumezu kayoedomo utsutsu ni hitome mishi koto wa arazu
- English Translation
-
Along the paths of dreams
without resting my feet
I go to you, and yet
in waking life not once
have I had even a glimpse of you
- Meaning
- On the paths of dreams I go to you without ever resting my feet, yet in waking life I have never once had even a glimpse of you.
- Commentary
-
Book Thirteen Love Poems III 658
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
In dreams the poet visits without pause, yet in reality she has never once met the beloved. The contrast between frequent meetings in dreams and not a single glimpse in reality is vivid, conveying the sorrow that the more she relies on dreams, the starker the distance in waking life becomes.
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.
Following the hope placed in the path of dreams in the preceding poem, this one concludes that though she can visit in dreams, she cannot meet in reality, closing Komachi's three dream poems.
The first line, "yumeji ni wa," means "on the path of dreams," pairing with "in reality" in the fourth line and taking up "path of dreams" from the preceding poem.
The second line, "ashi mo yasumezu," means "without resting my feet," showing ceaseless visits.
The third line, "kayoedomo," means "though I go," continuing with the adversative domo.
The fourth line, "utsutsu ni hitome," means "in reality, one glimpse," contrasting frequent visits in dreams with a single glimpse in reality.
The final line, "mishi koto wa arazu," means "I have never seen," ending firmly with the negative zu.
- 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
- Next Poem
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Omoedomo hitome tsutsumi no takakereba kawa to minagara e koso watarane