君に恋ひいたもすべなみ奈良山の
小松が下に立ち嘆くかも
小松が下に立ち嘆くかも
- Roma-ji
-
Kimi ni koi ita mo sube nami narayama no komatsu ga shita ni tachinageku kamo
- English Translation
-
Longing so for you,
utterly without a hope,
on Mount Nara's slope,
underneath the little pines,
I stand here and heave my sighs
- Meaning
- Longing for you, and utterly helpless, I stand beneath the little pines on Mount Nara and sigh.
- Commentary
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Book Four Love Poems 593
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Twenty-four poems sent by Lady Kasa to Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi"
Longing for him and utterly helpless, she stands and sighs beneath the little pines of Mount Nara. The matsu of "little pine" echoes matsu, "to wait," picturing her standing on and on, waiting for her lover.
The author, Lady Kasa, was a woman poet of the Nara period who sent many love poems to Ōtomo no Yakamochi. Little else is known of her.
First line, "Longing so for you," means loving you.
Second line, "utterly without a hope," uses ita mo, "exceedingly," and sube nami, "having no means": because it is utterly hopeless.
Third line, "on Mount Nara's slope," names the hills north of the capital at Nara.
Fourth line, "underneath the little pines," means beneath small pine trees, the pine (matsu) echoing "wait" (matsu).
Fifth line, "I stand here and heave my sighs," means I stand and grieve, with the exclamatory kamo.
- Author
- Lady Kasa
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Yami no yo ni naku naru tazu no yoso nomi ni kikitsutsu ka aramu au to wa nashi ni
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Waga yado no yūkagekusa no shiratsuyu no kenu gani motona omōyuru kamo