我が恋ふる妹は逢はさず玉の浦に
衣片敷き独りかも寝む
衣片敷き独りかも寝む
- Roma-ji
-
Aga kouru imo wa awasazu tama no ura ni koromo katashiki hitori kamo nemu
- English Translation
-
The one I long for,
my darling, will not come to meet me;
at Tama Bay
spreading just one sleeve of my robe,
must I sleep here all alone?
- Meaning
- My beloved will not meet me. Here at Tama Bay, must I spread out only one sleeve of my robe and sleep alone?
- Commentary
-
Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems 1692
Headnote: "Two poems composed in the province of Kii"
Unable to meet the wife he loves, the traveler laments that he must sleep alone at Tama Bay on a single spread sleeve. The loneliness of sleeping on the road and his longing for his wife are voiced plainly.
This is the first of two poems composed in Kii. Tama Bay is thought to be near present-day Nachikatsuura, Higashimuro District, Wakayama. It shares its last line, "must I sleep here all alone," with the next poem, 1693.
The author, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, was a court poet active in the reigns of Jitō and Monmu. This poem is taken from the Hitomaro Collection, which is thought to contain both Hitomaro's own poems and poems by others that he gathered.
The first line, "the one I long for," modifies "my darling."
The second line, "my darling, will not come to meet me," uses the honorific sa, a respectful and affectionate way of speaking of her, and the poem pauses here.
The third line, "at Tama Bay," names the place of lodging and has six syllables, one more than usual.
The fourth line, "spreading just one sleeve of my robe," describes the gesture of sleeping alone, in contrast to lovers who spread their sleeves together.
The final line, "must I sleep here all alone?" forms a kakari-musubi of kamo with the conjectural mu. It is exactly the same as the last line of the next poem, 1693.
- Author
- Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
-
Tabi nareba yonaka o sashite teru tsuki no takashimayama ni kakuraku oshi mo
- Next Poem
-
Tamakushige akemaku oshiki atarayo o koromode karete hitori kamo nemu