春霞たなびく山のへなれれば
妹に逢はずて月ぞ経にける
妹に逢はずて月ぞ経にける
- Roma-ji
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Harugasumi tanabiku yama no henarereba imo ni awazute tsuki zo henikeru
- English Translation
-
With the haze of spring
trailing on the mountains there
lying in between,
not meeting you, my dearest,
a whole month has passed me by
- Meaning
- With mountains trailing spring haze lying between us, a month has passed without my seeing you.
- Commentary
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Book Eight Spring Love Poems 1464
Headnote: "A poem sent by Ōtomo no Yakamochi to the Elder Daughter of Sakanoue"
Separated by mountains trailing spring haze, the poet laments that time has passed without seeing his beloved. The note says, "The above was sent from the Kuni capital to the house in Nara," so Yakamochi, serving at the new capital of Kuni, sent it to the Elder Daughter of Sakanoue at home in Nara. It stands last among the spring love poems.
The author, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was a son of Ōtomo no Tabito and an official of the Nara period. He rose to the post of Middle Counselor, is thought to have been closely involved in compiling the Man'yōshū, and left more poems than anyone else in the anthology. The recipient, the Elder Daughter of Sakanoue, was the daughter of Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue and Yakamochi's cousin, and later became his wife.
The first line names the spring haze over the mountains that part them.
The second line names mountains where the haze trails; it catches the same scene as "when the spring haze trails" in 1450 of this book, but as something that separates lovers.
The third line means "since they lie between," a definite condition formed by the perfective form of the continuative "ri" and "ba."
The fourth line means "without meeting you."
The final line forms a kakari-musubi between "zo" and "keru," lamenting that a whole month has gone by.
- Author
- Otomo no Yakamochi
- Source
- Manyoshu
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