住吉に行くといふ道に昨日見し
恋忘れ貝言にしありけり
恋忘れ貝言にしありけり
- Roma-ji
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Suminoe ni yuku to iu michi ni kinō mishi koiwasuregai koto ni shi arikeri
- English Translation
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On the road they say
leads down to Suminoe
yesterday I saw
the shell that makes love forgotten—
it was nothing but a name
- Meaning
- The love-forgetting shell I saw yesterday on the road that leads to Suminoe—it proved to be nothing but a name.
- Commentary
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Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1149
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed in Settsu"
Though the poet saw a love-forgetting shell yesterday on the road to Suminoe, his longing did not fade, and he laments that its power was nothing but a name. The depth of his longing for home and his beloved is conveyed through the shell's failure.
Following poem 1147 in this book, which wished to go and gather the love-forgetting shells, this poem says the shell was seen but did no good, so the two poems answer each other as hope and disappointment. The last line, "it was nothing but a name," also appears in poems 1132, 1197 and 1213. The poet is unknown.
The first line, "On the road," begins "Suminoe ni," "to Suminoe."
The second line, "they say leads down to Suminoe," has an extra syllable.
The third line, "yesterday I saw," refers to what he saw the day before.
The fourth line names the shell said to make one forget love, the same word as the last line of poem 1147.
The final line uses "keri" for realization: it was only a name after all. Poem 1197 ends with the same line.
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
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Uma namete kyō waga mitsuru suminoe no kishi no hanyū o yorozuyo ni mimu
- Next Poem
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Suminoe no kishi ni ie mo ga oki ni he ni yosuru shiranami mitsutsu shinowamu