夢にだに見ゆとは見えじ朝な朝な
我が面影に恥づる身なれば
我が面影に恥づる身なれば
- Roma-ji
-
Yume ni dani miyu to wa mieji asana asana waga omokage ni hazuru mi nareba
- English Translation
-
Not even in dreams
shall I let you see me there,
for morning by morning
at the image of my face
I have come to feel ashamed.
- Meaning
- Not even in your dreams will I let you see me, for each and every morning I am ashamed of the face I find in my mirror.
- Commentary
-
Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 681
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Ashamed of a face worn by love, the speaker refuses to be seen by her lover even in his dreams. Where so many love poems long to meet in dreams, this one conveys a complex woman's heart that shrinks from being seen.
The poem turns the theme of "seeing" in the preceding poems around to the side of the one who is seen, showing a heart torn between the wish to meet and shame at her own appearance.
The author, "Ise," was the daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugukage, governor of Ise, and served Empress Onshi, consort of Emperor Uda. She enjoyed Emperor Uda's favor and later bore Nakatsukasa to Prince Atsuyoshi. She is one of the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
In the first line, "yume ni dani," "dani" means "at least" or "even," implying "not in reality, and not even in dreams."
The second line, "miyu to wa mieji," means "I shall not be seen appearing," with the negative conjectural "ji" expressing firm resolve; the poem pauses here.
The third line, "asana asana," means "morning after morning," expressing daily repetition.
The fourth line, "waga omokage ni," refers to the speaker's own face seen in the mirror, worn thin by love.
The final line, "hazuru mi nareba," means "for I am one who feels ashamed," giving the reason for the second line in inverted order.
- Author
- Ise
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Kimi tēba mimare mizumare fuji no ne no mezurashige naku moyuru waga koi
- Next Poem
-
Ishima yuku mizu no shiranami tachikaeri kaku koso wa mime akazu mo aru kana