紫の名高の浦のなのりその
磯に靡かむ時待つ我れを
磯に靡かむ時待つ我れを
- Roma-ji
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Murasaki no natakanoura no nanoriso no iso ni nabikamu toki matsu ware o
- English Translation
-
Of Murasaki,
on the shore of Nataka,
the nanoriso
will bend to the rocky beach—
and I wait for that time to come
- Meaning
- Like the nanoriso seaweed of Nataka Bay, famed as purple dye, bending toward the rocky shore—so I wait for the time when she will lean toward me.
- Commentary
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Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1396
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Seaweed"
As the nanoriso seaweed of Nataka Bay bends toward the rocky shore, so the poet waits for the time when the woman he loves will yield to him. Likening the seaweed to the woman, it expresses a man's heart as he patiently waits for one who will not easily give way.
It is the third of the poems on seaweed. Its first two lines, "Murasaki no Natakanoura no," are the same as in poem 1392 in this book; set at the same Nataka Bay, it changes the image from the shore's sand to seaweed. The poet is unknown.
The first line, "Of Murasaki," is a pillow word for "Nataka" (famous), since purple was a famous color; it is the same as the first line of poem 1392 in this book.
The second line names Nataka Bay in Kii, thought to be near present-day Kainan in Wakayama.
The third line names the nanoriso seaweed, which here stands for the woman he loves.
The fourth line, "will bend to the rocky beach," figures the woman turning her heart toward him.
The final line, "and I wait for that time to come," trails off with an exclamatory "o": "I who wait—and yet."
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Okitsunami yosuru ariso no nanoriso wa kokoro no uchi ni tsutsumi to nareri
- Next Poem
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Ariso kosu nami wa kashikoshi shikasuga ni umi no tamamo no nikuku wa arazute