高麗錦紐解きかはし天人の
妻問ふ宵ぞ我れも偲はむ
妻問ふ宵ぞ我れも偲はむ
- Roma-ji
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Komanishiki himo tokikawashi amebito no tsumadou yoi zo ware mo shinowamu
- English Translation
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Silk brocade of Koma,
sashes loosened, each for each,
the heavenly one
goes to woo his wife tonight—
I too will cherish mine in thought.
- Meaning
- Tonight the one in heaven goes to court his wife, the two loosening each other's sashes of Koma brocade—I too will think fondly of my love.
- Commentary
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Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2090
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Tanabata: Envoy"
This poem says that tonight, as the two heavenly stars loosen each other's sashes and meet, the speaker on earth will also cherish the thought of a beloved, and it is attached as the envoy to the preceding long poem. Its distinctive point is a viewpoint that, while sympathizing with the heavenly meeting, overlays it on the speaker's own earthly love. Taking up the Tanabata meeting sung in the long poem, it closes by drawing it toward the feelings of an earthly person.
The first line, "komanishiki," brocade from Koma, is regarded as a pillow word attached to "sash."
The second line, "loosening each other's sashes," shows them lying together.
The third line, "the heavenly one's," refers to the Herdsman.
In the fourth line, "tsumadou yoi zo," "tsumadou" means to visit one's wife and "zo" is emphatic. The poem breaks here.
In the last line, "ware mo shinowamu," "mu" expresses intention, closing with the resolve that the earthly speaker too will cherish a beloved.
- Source
- Manyoshu
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