後れにし人を思はく思泥の崎
木綿取り垂でて幸くとぞ思ふ
木綿取り垂でて幸くとぞ思ふ
- Roma-ji
-
Okurenishi hito o omowaku shide no saki yū torishidete sakiku to zo omou
- English Translation
-
The one left behind,
as I think of that dear one,
at Cape Shide
taking cloth and hanging it,
I pray that all may be well
- Meaning
- Thinking of the one left behind, at Cape Shide I take the sacred mulberry cloth and hang it down, praying that all may be well.
- Commentary
-
Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 1031
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem by Tajihi no Yanushi no Mahito"
The poem tells how, thinking of the one left behind, the poet hangs sacred mulberry cloth at Cape Shide and prays for that person's safety. It is a poem from the journey of Tenpyō 12 (740), when Emperor Shōmu made a progress to the province of Ise following the rebellion of Fujiwara no Hirotsugu, Junior Assistant Governor-General of Dazaifu, the so-called progress to the east. Making an offering to the gods at a cape on the road, the poet prays for the well-being of the family left in the capital.
The left note reads: "On consideration, this poem may not have been composed on this progress. The reason is that an order was given for this gentleman to return to the capital from the temporary palace of Kawaguchi and not to accompany the progress. How then could there be a poem about Cape Shide?" Since Tajihi no Yanushi was ordered back to the capital from Kawaguchi and did not follow the progress farther, the compiler doubts that he could have written a poem about Cape Shide. Whether the poem belongs to this progress is uncertain.
The poet, Tajihi no Yanushi, was an official of the Nara period, and the Tajihi clan was said to descend from Emperor Senka. The left note shows that he accompanied this progress as far as the temporary palace of Kawaguchi and was sent back to the capital from there.
In the first line, "The one left behind," "okurenishi" means "left behind," with "ni," a form of the perfective auxiliary "nu," and "shi," the attributive form of the past auxiliary "ki." It refers to the one who stayed at home while the poet went on the journey.
In the second line, "as I think of that dear one," "omowaku" is a nominalized form of "omou," meaning "what I think is," whose content is given in the final line.
The third line, "at Cape Shide," is thought to name a cape in Ise. Its sound is repeated in "shidete" in the fourth line, linking the place name to the act of making an offering.
The fourth line, "taking cloth and hanging it," describes the ritual of taking sacred mulberry cloth and hanging it down when praying to the gods. The echo between "Shide" and "shidete" shapes the music of the poem.
The final line, "I pray that all may be well," is a kakari-musubi construction in which the particle "zo" is answered by "omou" in the attributive form. Answering "omowaku" in the second line, it expresses strongly the prayer for the family's safety.
- Author
- Tajihi no Yanushi
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
-
Imo ni koi aga no matsubara miwataseba shiohi no kata ni tazu naki wataru
- Next Poem
-
Ōkimi no miyuki no manima wagimoko ga tamakura makazu tsuki zo henikeru