いにしへになほ立ち返る心かな
恋しきことにもの忘れせで
恋しきことにもの忘れせで
- Roma-ji
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Inishie ni nao tachikaeru kokoro kana koishiki koto ni monowasure sede
- English Translation
-
To the days gone by
still my heart returns again,
such a heart is mine;
when it comes to things I long for,
it forgets not anything.
- Meaning
- My heart keeps returning to the past; when it comes to what I long for, it never forgets a thing.
- Commentary
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Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 734
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Unable to forget an old love, the speaker's heart keeps returning to the past. The poem frankly expresses the nature of a heart that may forget other things but never what it longs for.
"Tachikaeru" in the second line is the same word as "tachikaeri" in 682 of this book; what in the first half of the book was a heart seeking meetings again and again is sung here as a heart returning to the past. It continues the longing for old love of the two preceding poems.
The author, "Tsurayuki," is Ki no Tsurayuki. The son of Ki no Mochiyuki, he was one of the compilers of the Kokinshū and wrote its Japanese preface; after serving as governor of Tosa he wrote the Tosa Diary.
The first line, "inishie ni," means "to the days gone by," pointing to the days of a former love.
The second line, "nao tachikaeru," means "still returns," using the same word as "tachikaeri" in the third line of 682 in this book.
The third line, "kokoro kana," means "such is my heart," closing with the exclamatory "kana"; the poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "koishiki koto ni," means "when it comes to what I long for."
The final line, "monowasure sede," means "without forgetting anything," "de" being a negative connective, giving the reason for the third line in inverted order.
- Author
- Ki no Tsurayuki
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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