玉葛実ならぬ木にはちはやぶる
神ぞつくといふならぬ木ごとに
神ぞつくといふならぬ木ごとに
- Roma-ji
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Tamakazura mi naranu ki ni wa chihayaburu kami zo tsuku to iu naranu ki goto ni
- English Translation
-
Like the jeweled vine,
on every tree that bears no fruit
the mighty gods
come to dwell, or so they say—
on every fruitless tree.
- Meaning
- They say that a fearsome god comes to dwell in any tree that bears no fruit—in every tree that bears none.
- Commentary
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Book Two Love Poems 101
Headnote: "A poem from the time when Ōtomo no Sukune courted Lady Kose"
Saying that a god possesses any tree that bears no fruit, he courts her with a half-threat: a woman who lets love bear no fruit will be seized by a fearsome god.
According to the headnote, this is from the time when Ōtomo no Sukune courted Lady Kose. A note to the headnote explains that Ōtomo no Sukune was named Yasumaro, the sixth son of Ōtomo no Nagatoko, Minister of the Right at the Naniwa court, and that he died as Major Counselor and General under the Nara court.
The author, Ōtomo no Yasumaro, was a son of Ōtomo no Nagatoko and rose to Major Counselor and General. He was the father of Ōtomo no Tabito and was also called the Saho Major Counselor.
The first line, "tamakazura," a beautiful vine, is a pillow word for mi, "fruit." The next poem, 102 by Lady Kose, answers with the same line.
The second line, "mi naranu ki ni wa," means "on a tree that bears no fruit," a figure for a woman who lets love come to nothing.
The third line, "chihayaburu," is a pillow word for kami, "god."
In the fourth line, "kami zo tsuku to iu," zo is a binding particle concluding in the attributive iu. The poem pauses after this line.
The final line, "naranu ki goto ni," repeats "fruitless tree" from the second line and, by inversion, drives the threat home.
- Author
- Ōtomo no Yasumaro
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
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Azumahito no nosaki no hako no ni no o ni mo imo wa kokoro ni norinikeru kamo
- Next Poem
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Tamakazura hana nomi sakite narazu aru wa ta ga koi ni arame a wa koi mou o