やすみしし我が大君の敷きませる
国の中には都し思ほゆ
国の中には都し思ほゆ
- Roma-ji
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Yasumishishi waga ōkimi no shikimaseru kuni no uchi ni wa miyako shi omooyu
- English Translation
-
Of all the realm ruled
by our sovereign great and wise,
he who rules the land,
within the country he holds,
it is the capital I miss.
- Meaning
- Of all the lands our great sovereign rules, it is the capital that comes to my mind above all.
- Commentary
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Book Three Miscellaneous Poems 329
Headnote: "Two poems by Ōtomo no Yotsuna, Assistant of the Office of Frontier Guards"
Stationed at Dazaifu, the poet sings of his longing for the capital. Within all the vast land the Emperor rules, it is the capital, above any other place, that fills his thoughts—homesickness stated plainly. Taking up Ono no Oyu's preceding poem in praise of the capital, it turns to longing for it from far-off Tsukushi.
The poet, Ōtomo no Yotsuna, was a Nara-period official who served as Assistant of the Office of Frontier Guards at Dazaifu.
First line "Of all the realm ruled" renders yasumishishi, a pillow word for "our great sovereign."
Second line "by our sovereign great and wise" refers to the Emperor.
Third line "he who rules the land": shiku means to govern, mase is the honorific masu, and ru the attributive of the continuative ri.
Fourth line "within the country he holds" conveys the breadth of the realm.
Fifth line "it is the capital I miss": shi is emphatic and omooyu means to come to mind, ending in homesickness.
- Author
- Ōtomo no Yotsuna
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
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Aoniyoshi Nara no miyako wa saku hana no niou ga gotoku ima sakari nari
- Next Poem
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Fujinami no hana wa sakari ni narinikeri Nara no miyako o omoosu ya kimi