木綿畳手に取り持ちてかくだにも
我れは祈ひなむ君に逢はじかも
我れは祈ひなむ君に逢はじかも
- Roma-ji
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Yūdatami te ni torimochite kaku dani mo are wa koinamu kimi ni awaji kamo
- English Translation
-
The folded bark-cloth
I take up within my hands—
in this way at least
I will pray to all the gods;
yet shall I not meet my love?
- Meaning
- Taking the folded mulberry cloth in my hands, at least like this I will pray to the gods—and still, shall I not meet you?
- Commentary
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Book Three Miscellaneous Poems 380
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem with tanka by Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue on worshiping the gods" — "Envoy"
This is the envoy to a long poem composed when the clan god of the Ōtomo was worshiped. Even praying to the god this earnestly, holding the sacred cloth in her hands, will she still not meet her love? she wonders, weaving a love prayer into the rite. A left note says that in the eleventh month of winter in Tenpyō 5 (733), when the Ōtomo clan god was worshiped, she composed this poem, and so it is called a poem on worshiping the gods. The worship of the gods and the longing of love become one.
The poet, Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue, was a daughter of Ōtomo no Yasumaro, half-sister of Ōtomo no Tabito, and aunt of Ōtomo no Yakamochi. As mistress of the Ōtomo household she supported the clan, and she left many poems in the Man'yōshū.
First line "The folded bark-cloth": yūdatami is folded mulberry cloth used in rites.
Second line "I take up within my hands" means holding it.
Third line "in this way at least": dani means "at least."
Fourth line "I will pray to all the gods": kou means to pray, and namu expresses strong intention. The sentence breaks here.
Fifth line "yet shall I not meet my love": ji is negative conjecture and kamo a questioning sigh, ending in anxiety.
- Author
- Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
- Source
- Manyoshu
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