敷栲の手枕まかず間置きて
年ぞ経にける逢はなく思へば
年ぞ経にける逢はなく思へば
- Roma-ji
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Shikitae no tamakura makazu aida okite toshi zo henikeru awanaku omoeba
- English Translation
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On the spread bedclothes
never pillowed on her arm,
with a gap between,
a full year has passed us by,
when I think we have not met
- Meaning
- Without once pillowing my head on her arm, kept apart from her, a whole year has gone by, when I think how long we have not met.
- Commentary
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Book Four Love Poems 535
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Envoy"
This is the envoy to Prince Aki's long poem (534). Kept from his love, never once pillowing his head on her arm, he laments that a whole year has already passed, grieving over how long they have been unable to meet.
According to the left note, Prince Aki took as his wife the uneme of Yakami in Inaba and loved her deeply, but he was charged with the crime of disrespect for violating a palace attendant, and she was sent back to her home province. Grieving over this, the prince composed the poem.
The author, Prince Aki, was a grandson of Prince Shiki and is thought to be a son of Prince Kasuga.
First line, "On the spread bedclothes," is shikitae no, a pillow word for "arm-pillow" and "pillow," from cloth spread for a bed.
Second line, "never pillowed on her arm," means without making a pillow of each other's arms; maku means to use as a pillow.
Third line, "with a gap between," runs to six syllables and means leaving a gap, kept apart.
Fourth line, "a full year has passed us by," stresses "year" with zo and closes in the attributive keru: a year has gone by. The poem breaks after this line.
Fifth line, "when I think we have not met," uses awanaku, the nominalized form of the negative: when I consider that we have not met. By inversion it gives the reason for his grief.
- Author
- Prince Aki
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Naniwagata shiohi no nagori aku made ni hito no miru ko o ware shi tomoshi mo
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Ō no umi no shiohi no kata no katamoi ni omoi ya yukamu michi no nagate o