いかならむ日の時にかも我妹子が
裳引きの姿朝に日に見む
裳引きの姿朝に日に見む
- Roma-ji
-
Ika naramu hi no toki ni kamo wagimoko ga mobiki no sugata asa ni ke ni mimu
- English Translation
-
On what kind of day,
at what hour will it be
that my darling girl,
trailing the long hem of her skirt,
I can see from morn to night
- Meaning
- When will the day come that I can see my beloved trailing the hem of her skirt, morning and day, every day?
- Commentary
-
Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2897
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
The poet wonders when the day will come to see the beloved trailing her skirt every day, longing for a time when they will live together. The graceful figure of a woman trailing her skirt is drawn as a concrete object of yearning.
The poet is unknown. Book Twelve, titled the second part of "Love Poems Exchanged Old and New," gathers love poems by people whose names have not come down to us, arranged by category.
Line one, "ika naramu," means "what kind of."
Line two, "hi no toki ni kamo," means "on what day and hour," with "kamo" marking a question that corresponds to "mimu" in line five.
Line three, "wagimoko ga," means "my darling."
Line four, "mobiki no sugata," is the figure of a woman trailing the long hem of her skirt as she walks.
Line five, "asa ni ke ni mimu," means "shall I see her morning and day," expressing longing for days spent together.
- Author
- Unknown
- Source
- Manyoshu
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