Ama no sumu sato no shirube ni aranaku ni uramimu to nomi hito no iuramu - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

海人の住む里のしるべにあらなくに
うらみむとのみ人の言ふらむ

Roma-ji: Ama no sumu sato no shirube ni aranaku ni uramimu to nomi hito no iuramu
English Translation: I am not a guide
to the village by the sea
where the fishers dwell,
so why is it that you say
"I'll see the bay," "I'll resent"?
Meaning: I am no guide to the village where the fisherfolk live, so why do you keep saying you will "see the bay"—that you resent me?
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 727

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
To a lover who keeps saying he resents her, the speaker retorts that she is no guide to the bay where the fisherfolk live, turning the tables with the pivot word joining "urami" (resentment) and "urami" (seeing the bay). Deflecting his reproaches lightly with wordplay, the poem shows a wit that seems to probe his true feelings.
Written from the side of one who receives reproaches, it shifts the viewpoint from the laments over changed hearts in the preceding poems to resentment voiced by the other.
The author, "Ono no Komachi," was a woman poet of the early Heian period, counted among both the Six Poetic Immortals and the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets. One theory makes her the daughter of Ono no Yoshizane, a district official in Dewa, but her life is not clearly known. She is said to have served at court around the reign of Emperor Ninmyō.

The first line, "ama no sumu," means "where the fisherfolk live," indicating a seaside village.
The second line, "sato no shirube ni," means "a guide to that village," "shirube" being a guide or signpost.
The third line, "aranaku ni," means "though I am not," and the poem pauses here.
In the fourth line, "uramimu to nomi," "urami" is a pivot word joining "ura-mi" (seeing the bay) and "urami" (resentment), an associated word with the fisherfolk's village in the first two lines.
The final line, "hito no iuramu," means "why does he say so?", using "ramu" to surmise a cause.
Author: Ono no Komachi
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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