いにしへゆあげてし服も顧みず
天の川津に年ぞ経にける
天の川津に年ぞ経にける
- Roma-ji
-
Inishie yu ageteshi hata mo kaerimizu ama no kawazu ni toshi zo henikeru
- English Translation
-
From the days of old
the loom I set up, even that
I have left neglected;
by the Heavenly River's ford
years on years have passed me by.
- Meaning
- Neglecting even the loom I set up long ago, I have let the years go by at the ford of the Heavenly River.
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2019
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Tanabata"
This poem, in the Weaver's voice, says that neglecting even the loom she had long set with thread, she has passed the years waiting at the ford of the Heavenly River. The Weaver, whose calling is weaving, is shown so captivated by love that she neglects even that. Against the Herdsman's year apart in the preceding poem, this one sings of the years the Weaver has spent waiting.
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro was a court poet of the Asuka period, active under Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu. The left note records that this poem comes from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection, and it is uncertain whether it is Hitomaro's own work or a poem by someone else that he recorded.
In the first line, "inishie yu," "yu" marks the starting point: from long ago.
In the second line, "ageteshi hata mo," "agu" is taken to mean setting threads on a loom: even the loom I had begun.
The third line, "without regard," shows that she cannot attend to her weaving.
In the fourth line, "ama no kawazu ni," "tsu" means a ford or harbor.
In the last line, "toshi zo henikeru," "zo" is an emphatic particle in kakari-musubi with the attributive "keru," closing with the length of years gone by.
- Author
- Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Amanogawa kozo no watarize utsuroeba kawase o fumu ni yo zo fukenikeru
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