真土山夕越え行きて廬前の
角太川原にひとりかも寝む
角太川原にひとりかも寝む
- Roma-ji
-
Matsuchiyama yū koeyukite Iosaki no Sumida kawara ni hitori ka mo nemu
- English Translation
-
Mount Matsuchi now
I cross in the evening dusk,
and at Iosaki,
on the riverbank of Sumida,
shall I lie down all alone?
- Meaning
- Crossing Mount Matsuchi at dusk, shall I sleep alone tonight on the riverbank of Sumida at Iosaki?
- Commentary
-
Book Three Miscellaneous Poems 298
Headnote: "A poem by Benki"
Crossing Mount Matsuchi at dusk, on the border between Yamato and Kii, the poet foresees a night in the open on the riverbank of Sumida beyond, and dwells on the loneliness of a night on the road. A left note says that, by one account, Benki was the monastic name of Kasuga no Kurabito Oyu.
According to the left note, the poet, Benki, was the monastic name of Kasuga no Kurabito Oyu, who returned to lay life in Taihō 1 (701) and was given that name.
First line "Mount Matsuchi now": a mountain on the border of Yamato and Kii, between present-day Gojō, Nara, and Hashimoto, Wakayama.
Second line "I cross in the evening dusk" means going over it at evening.
Third line "and at Iosaki" is thought to be a place along the Ki River.
Fourth line "on the riverbank of Sumida" is thought to be a riverbank of the Ki River.
Fifth line "shall I lie down all alone": ka is interrogative and mu, in the attributive, completes the construction, ending in the loneliness of a night on the road.
- Author
- Benki
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Okuyama no suga no ha shinogi furu yuki no kenaba oshikemu ame na furi so ne