あぶり干す人もあれやも家人の
春雨すらを間使ひにする
春雨すらを間使ひにする
- Roma-ji
-
Aburi hosu hito mo are ya mo iebito no harusame sura o matsukai ni suru
- English Translation
-
To dry it by the fire,
is there anyone here at all?
yet those at home
make even the rain of spring
into a messenger for me.
- Meaning
- Is there anyone here to dry my robe over a fire? No one. And still my family sends even the spring rain to me as their messenger.
- Commentary
-
Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems 1698
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Three poems composed at the Naki River"
There is no one to dry his wet robe, yet his family sends even the spring rain as a messenger. Carrying forward the conceit of the preceding poem, the traveler complains of being soaked with affection for those at home.
This is the third of three poems composed at the Naki River and closes the group. Its first two lines are the same as those of poem 1688.
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, "to dry it by the fire," means to hold something over flames to dry it.
The second line, "is there anyone here at all?" is a rhetorical question implying no one, and the poem pauses here. These two lines are the same as in 1688.
The third line, "yet those at home," repeats the opening words of the preceding poem, 1697, linking the group.
The fourth line, "make even the rain of spring," uses sura to mark an extreme example.
The final line, "into a messenger for me," picks up "messenger" from the preceding poem and brings the group to a close.
- Author
- Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
-
Iebito no tsukai ni arashi harusame no yokuredo ware o nurasaku omoeba
- Next Poem
-
Ōkura no irie toyomu nari imehito no fushimi ga tai ni kari wataru rashi