九月のしぐれの雨の山霧の
いぶせき我が胸誰を見ばやまむ
いぶせき我が胸誰を見ばやまむ
- Roma-ji
-
Nagatsuki no shigure no ame no yamagiri no ibuseki aga mune ta o miba yamamu
- English Translation
-
In the ninth month's rain,
showers falling, mountain mist—
like it, gloomy, dark,
is this heart of mine; whom then
should I see to make it clear?
- Meaning
- Like the mountain mist in the showers of the Ninth Month, my heart is heavy and gloomy—whom must I see before it clears?
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Autumn Love Poems 2263
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Love Expressed Through Rain"
This poem laments a heart as heavy as mountain mist in the Ninth Month showers, wondering whom one must meet for it to clear. The oppressiveness of the mountain mist in the upper lines leads into "ibuseki," impressing the gloom of a heart sunk in love. The kundoku also carries a variant for the upper lines, "kannazuki shigure no ame furi." Like 2241, which drew a dim dream from mist, it uses mist as a figure for the heart.
The first line, "of the Ninth Month," names the time.
The second line, "of the showers' rain," names the rain.
The third line, "like the mountain mist," with the upper lines forming a preface leading into "ibuseki."
In the fourth line, "ibuseki aga mune," "ibuseshi" means gloomy and oppressive; the line is hypermetric.
The last line, "whom should I see for it to clear," closes with thoughts of the beloved.
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
-
Akihagi o chirasu nagame no furu koro wa hitori okiite kouru yo zo ōki
- Next Poem
-
Korogi no machiyorokoburu aki no yo o nuru shirushi nashi makura to ware wa