伊勢の海の海人の島津が鰒玉
採りて後もか恋の繁けむ
採りて後もか恋の繁けむ
- Roma-ji
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Ise no umi no ama no shimatsu ga awabitama torite nochi mo ka koi no shigekemu
- English Translation
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On the sea of Ise
the diver named Shimatsu
gathers abalone pearls—
even after they are mine,
will my longing still run deep?
- Meaning
- Like the abalone pearls that Shimatsu the diver gathers in the sea of Ise—even after I have won her, will my longing still grow so thick?
- Commentary
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Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1322
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Jewels"
The poet wonders whether, even after winning the abalone pearl that Shimatsu the diver gathers in the sea of Ise, his longing will still grow. The pearl stands for a beloved woman; if the longing is so great before winning her, the poet asks whether it will go on even after she is his.
It is the sixth poem on jewels. Shimatsu is generally taken as the name of a diver. Where the preceding poem laments the breaking of a tied cord, this one imagines the time after the pearl is taken, the two corresponding as before and after a bond. The poet is unknown.
The first line, "On the sea of Ise," has an extra syllable.
The second line, "the diver named Shimatsu," is taken to name a diver.
The third line, "abalone pearls," names pearls from abalone, standing for a beloved woman.
In the fourth line, "even after they are mine," the particle "ka" is answered by the attributive "shigekemu" in the final line.
The final line, "will my longing still run deep?" closes the "ka ... mu" construction as a question.
- Source
- Manyoshu
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