陸奥の安達の真弓我が引かば
すゑさへ寄りこ忍び忍びに
すゑさへ寄りこ忍び忍びに
- Roma-ji
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Michinoku no adachi no mayumi waga hikaba sue sae yori ko shinobi shinobi ni
- English Translation
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From Michinoku,
the true bow of Adachi:
if I should draw it,
even to the tip, come close,
secretly, secretly, to me.
- Meaning
- If I draw the fine bow of Adachi in Michinoku, bend to me as its tip bends, and stay close for all the time to come, quietly, where no one sees.
- Commentary
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Book Twenty Poems of the Bureau of Court Song 1078
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Kagura Songs: Torimono Song"
As a bow when drawn bends its tip toward the archer, so the singer hopes the beloved will draw near for all time to come, secretly. The song takes the bow torimono as its theme and overlays the bow's shape with love. No author is recorded.
Torimono songs are kagura songs sung on the hand-held objects that dancers carried in the sacred dance, such as sakaki branches, bows, ladles and vines. Poems 1074 through 1079 form this group of six.
The first line, "of Michinoku," names the province famed for this product.
The second line, "the true bow of Adachi," is a bow of spindle-tree wood made at Adachi in Michinoku, a celebrated craft item and the bow torimono.
The third line, "if I should draw it," overlays drawing a bow with drawing a heart; ba marks the supposition.
The fourth line, "even to the tip, come close," plays on sue, the upper tip of the bow and the time to come. As the tip bends toward the archer, the beloved is bidden with the imperative ko to draw near for all time; draw, near and tip are bow-related associated words.
The last line, "secretly, secretly," means hidden from others' eyes, the doubled word deepening the stealth. It inverts the order, modifying "come close" in the fourth line.
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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