秋萩の枝もとををに置く露の
消なば消ぬとも色に出でめやも
消なば消ぬとも色に出でめやも
- Roma-ji
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Akihagi no e mo tōo ni oku tsuyu no kenaba kenu tomo iro ni ideme ya mo
- English Translation
-
The autumn clover,
its branches bending under
the dew laid upon it:
though I vanish, vanish so,
would I let my love show? Never
- Meaning
- Like the dew weighing down the branches of autumn bush clover, I may fade and vanish, but never will I let my love show in my face.
- Commentary
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Book Eight Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 1595
Headnote: "A poem by Ōtomo no Sukune Katami"
Like the dew weighing down the branches of autumn bush clover, the poet says that even if he should fade away, he will never let his love show in his face. Likening the fading of his life to the fragility of dew, he expresses a firm resolve never to reveal a hidden love.
The author, Ōtomo no Katami, was an official of the Ōtomo clan.
The first line names the autumn clover on which dew lies.
The second line means "so that even the branches bend," showing how heavy the dew is.
With the third line, the first three lines become a preface leading to "vanish."
The fourth line means "if I vanish, though I vanish," repeating the word to express firm resolve. Heki no Nagae no Otome's 1564 in this book likewise lays love over the dew on pampas plumes, "as if I would vanish."
The final line adds the rhetorical "ya mo" to the conjectural "me," strongly denying: would I show it in my face? Never.
- Author
- Ōtomo no Katami
- Source
- Manyoshu
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