さす竹の大宮人の家と住む
佐保の山をば思ふやも君
佐保の山をば思ふやも君
- Roma-ji
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Sasutake no ōmiyabito no ie to sumu saho no yama o ba omou ya mo kimi
- English Translation
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Where, like thrusting bamboo,
the men of the great palace
have made their dwellings,
those hills of Saho, do you
think of them with longing, lord?
- Meaning
- The hills of Saho, where the men of the great palace make their homes—do you think of them with longing, my lord?
- Commentary
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Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 955
Headnote: "A poem by Ishikawa no Asomi Taruhito, Junior Assistant Governor-General of the Dazaifu"
This poem asks whether the addressee thinks with longing of the hills of Saho, where the courtiers make their homes. It was composed at the Dazaifu for Ōtomo no Tabito, Governor-General of the Dazaifu, and the next poem, 956, is Tabito's reply.
The Ōtomo family's residence stood in Saho, so the question calls to Tabito's mind, far away in Tsukushi, his home in the capital, and gently inquires after his longing for home. Alongside consideration for a superior, it can also be read as holding the poet's own yearning for the capital.
The poet, Ishikawa no Taruhito, came from the Ishikawa clan, descended from the Soga, and was an official posted to the Dazaifu as Junior Assistant Governor-General, one of the deputy posts of the Dazaifu.
This poem and the next, 956, form a question and answer: this one asks whether the addressee thinks of "the hills of Saho" in the capital, and the next replies that "Yamato and here are the same," denying the distance between the capital and Tsukushi.
The first line, "Where, like thrusting bamboo," is a pillow word attached to "the men of the great palace." Drawn from the vigorous growth of bamboo, it carries a sense of praise for the flourishing court.
The second line, "the men of the great palace," refers to those who serve at court, the nobles of the capital.
The third line, "have made their dwellings," means "where they live as their home," showing Saho as a place where the people of the capital dwell.
The fourth line, "those hills of Saho, do you," names the hills of Saho northeast of the capital of Heijō, with "o ba" strengthening the object. It resonates with "within Saho's bounds" in 949 of this book in singing of Saho as the home of the people of the capital.
In the final line, "think of them with longing, lord?" "ya" is interrogative and "mo" exclamatory, giving "do you think of them?" The address "kimi," "my lord," is placed at the very end in inverted order, strengthening the tone of the question.
- Author
- Ishikawa no Taruhito
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Ashita wa umibe ni asarishi yūsareba yamato e koyuru kari shi tomoshimo
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Yasumishishi waga ōkimi no osu kuni wa yamato mo koko mo oyaji to zo omou