吾が大君ものな思ほし皇神の
継ぎて賜へる我なけなくに
継ぎて賜へる我なけなくに
- Roma-ji
-
Waga ōkimi mono na omōshi sumegami no tsugite tamaeru ware nakenaku ni
- English Translation
-
O my Sovereign Lord,
be not troubled in your heart;
the ancestral gods
have given me to follow you—
am I not here by your side?
- Meaning
- My Sovereign, do not be troubled. Am I not here—given by the ancestral gods to stand beside you?
- Commentary
-
Book One Miscellaneous Poems 77
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "The first year of Wadō, tsuchinoe-saru: a poem by the Empress — a poem presented in response by Princess Minabe"
Answering her younger sister Empress Genmei, tense before the rites of accession in the preceding poem, Princess Minabe encourages her: do not be troubled, for I am here, given by the ancestral gods. It carries the reassurance of an elder sister supporting the sovereign and deep affection for her.
Princess Minabe was a daughter of Emperor Tenji and the full elder sister of Empress Genmei. She became the consort of Prince Takechi and the mother of Prince Nagaya.
The first line, "O my Sovereign," addresses her younger sister, Empress Genmei.
In the second line, na forbids and omōsu is the honorific of "to think": "do not be troubled." The poem breaks here.
The third line, sumegami, means the ancestral gods of the imperial house, who guard the throne.
The fourth line, "whom they gave to follow you," shows that she is the sovereign's kin, a gift of the gods.
In the last line, nakenaku is a nominal form negating nashi ("not exist"): "it is not that I am not here." The layered negatives give strong reassurance that she stands by her. Against the anxious conjecture rashi mo of the preceding poem, she answers with firm encouragement.
- Author
- Princess Minabe
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
-
Masurao no tomo no oto su nari mononofu no ōmaetsukimi tate tatsu rashi mo
- Next Poem
-
Tobu tori no asuka no sato o okite inaba kimi ga atari wa miezu ka mo aramu