見わたせば近き里廻をた廻り
今ぞ我が来る領巾振りし野に
今ぞ我が来る領巾振りし野に
- Roma-ji
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Miwataseba chikaki satomi o tamotōri ima zo waga kuru hire furishi no ni
- English Translation
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Gazing out afar,
the village seems so near,
yet round I wandered—
now at last I come
to the field where she waved her scarf
- Meaning
- Looking out, the village seemed so near, yet I wandered the long way round—and now at last I come to the field where she once waved her scarf.
- Commentary
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Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1243
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on Journeys"
Though the village looks close enough to touch, the poet has wandered the long way round and only now reaches the field where his beloved once waved her scarf in farewell. The near yet distant road holds both love and fond remembrance.
It is regarded as coming from the Old Collection. Waving a scarf was a gesture of grief at parting, and it recalls the legend of Matsura Sayohime waving her scarf, found in Book Five. The poet is unknown.
The first line, "Gazing out afar," means "when I look out over the land."
The second line, "the village seems so near," refers to the nearby village.
The third line, "yet round I wandered," means going back and forth, taking a roundabout way.
The fourth line, "now at last I come," is a kakari-musubi construction in which "zo" is answered by the attributive "kuru," and the poem pauses here.
The final line, "to the field where she waved her scarf," gives the destination by inversion.
- Source
- Manyoshu
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