標結ひて我が定めてし住吉の
浜の小松は後も我が松
浜の小松は後も我が松
- Roma-ji
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Shime yuite waga sadameteshi Suminoe no hama no komatsu wa nochi mo waga matsu
- English Translation
-
With a rope I marked
and claimed it as mine alone—
at Suminoe,
the little pine by the shore
shall be mine in days to come.
- Meaning
- The little pine on the shore of Suminoe, which I marked with a rope and claimed as my own, will be mine in the days to come as well.
- Commentary
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Book Three Allegorical Poems 394
Headnote: "A poem by Yo no Myōgun"
This poem belongs to the section of Allegorical Poems in Book Three. He has marked the little pine on the shore of Suminoe with a rope and claimed it, and so it will be his forever. Read as an allegory with the little pine as a young girl, it says that the girl he has pledged himself to will always be his. The word matsu, "pine," also echoes matsu, "to wait."
The poet, Yo no Myōgun, is thought to have been a descendant of immigrants from Paekche, and served Ōtomo no Tabito as his attendant.
First line "With a rope I marked": shime is a rope tied as a sign of possession.
Second line "and claimed it as mine alone": teshi combines perfective and past.
Third line "at Suminoe": a shore of Settsu famed for its pines.
Fourth line "the little pine by the shore" stands for a young girl.
Fifth line "shall be mine in days to come" declares firmly; some also hear matsu, "to wait," in "pine."
- Author
- Yo no Myōgun
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Miezu tomo tare koizarame yama no ha ni isayou tsuki o yoso ni miteshika
- Next Poem
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Takumano ni ouru murasaki kinu ni shime imada kizu shite iro ni idenikeri