遠長く仕へむものと思へりし
君しまさねば心どもなし
君しまさねば心どもなし
- Roma-ji
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Tōnagaku tsukaemu mono to omoerishi kimi shi masaneba kokorodo mo nashi
- English Translation
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Far and long, I thought,
I would serve him all my days,
so I truly thought—
now my lord is here no more,
all my spirit's gone from me.
- Meaning
- I had thought to serve my lord for years to come—now that he is gone, I have no heart left for anything.
- Commentary
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Book Three Elegies 457
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Six poems on the death of the Great Counselor Lord Ōtomo in the seventh month of autumn, Tenpyō 3, the year kanoto-hitsuji"
This is the fourth of the six poems mourning Ōtomo no Tabito. The master he meant to serve for years is gone, and he has lost all will to live—a servant's deep sense of loss. The heart of one who made serving his master his whole purpose is frankly revealed.
The six poems on the death of the Great Counselor Ōtomo no Tabito in the seventh month of autumn in Tenpyō 3 (731) form a sequence grieving the loss of a master. The left note to the fifth says these five were composed by the attendant Yo no Myōgun, who could not bear his devotion to his lord and was deeply moved in his heart.
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 "Far and long, I thought" means for a long time to come.
Second line "I would serve him all my days": mu expresses intention.
Third line "so I truly thought": ri is continuative and shi the past.
Fourth line "now my lord is here no more": shi is emphatic, masa the honorific masu, and ne the conditional of the negative.
Fifth line "all my spirit's gone from me": kokorodo is a steady heart or spirit.
- Author
- Yo no Myōgun
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
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Kimi ni koi ita mo sube nami ashitazu no ne nomi shi nakayu asayoi ni shite
- Next Poem
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Midoriko no haitamotoori asayoi ni ne nomi zo waga naku kimi nashi ni shite