風流士と我れは聞けるをやど貸さず
我れを帰せりおその風流士
我れを帰せりおその風流士
- Roma-ji
-
Miyabio to ware wa kikeru o yado kasazu ware o kaeseri oso no miyabio
- English Translation
-
A man of refinement,
so I had heard you called, yet
you gave me no lodging
and sent me off home again—
you dullard of refinement!
- Meaning
- I had heard you were a man of refinement, yet you gave me no place to stay and sent me home again—what a dull-witted man of refinement!
- Commentary
-
Book Two Love Poems 126
Headnote: "A poem sent by Lady Ishikawa to Ōtomo no Sukune Tanushi"
She mocks Ōtomo no Tanushi, reputed to be a man of refinement, as a dull-witted one for sending her away without offering her a place to stay.
According to the left note, Tanushi, whose familiar name was Nakachiko, was handsome and outstanding in refinement. Lady Ishikawa wished to be joined with him, so she disguised herself as a poor old woman and came to his bedchamber to borrow fire. In the dark he failed to recognize her, gave her fire, and sent her away. The next morning, ashamed of having tried to arrange the match herself and resentful that her wish had failed, she sent him this poem in jest.
The author, Lady Ishikawa, is otherwise unknown.
In the first line, "miyabio to," miyabio means a man of cultivated taste. The next poem, 127, answers with the same word.
In the second line, "ware wa kikeru o," ru is stative and o concessive: though I had heard.
The third line, "yado kasazu," means "without lending me lodging."
In the fourth line, "ware o kaeseri," ri is perfective: you sent me back. The poem pauses here.
In the final line, "oso no miyabio," oso means foolishness or dullness, and the poem ends on a noun. Repeating miyabio from the first line sharpens the irony.
- Author
- Lady Ishikawa
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
-
Tachibana no kage fumu michi no yachimata ni mono o zo omou imo ni awazu shite
- Next Poem
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Miyabio ni ware wa arikeri yado kasazu kaeshishi ware zo miyabio ni wa aru