故郷の飛鳥はあれどあをによし
奈良の明日香を見らくしよしも
奈良の明日香を見らくしよしも
- Roma-ji
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Furusato no asuka wa aredo aoniyoshi nara no asuka o miraku shi yoshi mo
- English Translation
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In the ancient home,
Asuka is fair indeed, yet
in rich-earthed Nara,
this Asuka that I see—
how good it is to gaze on
- Meaning
- Asuka, the old capital, is fair indeed, but how good it is to look upon the Asuka of Nara, rich in blue-green earth.
- Commentary
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Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 992
Headnote: "A poem by Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue on the village of Gangōji"
This poem says that though the old capital of Asuka is fair, it is also delightful to see the village of Asuka that has moved to Nara. Gangōji was originally Asuka-dera (Hōkōji) in Asuka, and after the capital moved to Heijō it was relocated to the new capital in Yōrō 2 (718). The area around the temple, where people moved together with it, is said to have been called "Asuka of Nara," and this poem praises that new village.
Writing the same place name with two different sets of characters, "Asuka" for the old capital and "Asuka" for the new village in Nara, the poet keeps a fondness for the old while approving of the village of the new capital, in a light and witty poem.
The poet, Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue, was a daughter of Ōtomo no Yasumaro and a half-sister of Ōtomo no Tabito. She was named after the village of Sakanoue where she lived; she acted as guardian to her nephew Ōtomo no Yakamochi, and her daughter Sakanoue no Ōiratsume later became Yakamochi's wife. She is one of the leading women poets of the Man'yōshū.
The first line, "In the ancient home," means the old capital, the former seat of the court. "Furusato" here does not mean one's birthplace as in modern Japanese, but a place where the capital once stood, in this case Asuka.
The second line, "Asuka is fair indeed, yet," means "Asuka is good, but." "Aredo" is adversative; acknowledging the merits of the old capital, the poet turns her heart toward the Asuka of Nara in the lower verse.
The third line, "in rich-earthed Nara," is the pillow word "aoniyoshi," which modifies Nara. Against the old capital of Asuka, the new capital of Nara is adorned beautifully with a pillow word.
The fourth line, "this Asuka that I see," points to the village around Gangōji, which had been moved to Heijō. Repeating the same place name as "Asuka" in the second line sets the two Asukas, old capital and new, against each other.
The final line, "how good it is to gaze on," means "it is good to see." "Miraku" is the nominalized form of "miru," "shi" is an emphatic particle, and "mo" expresses emotion. The poem closes with a simple statement of the joy of seeing the new village.
- Author
- Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
- Source
- Manyoshu
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