玉かつま逢はむと言ふは誰れなるか
逢へる時さへ面隠しする
逢へる時さへ面隠しする
- Roma-ji
-
Tamakatsuma awamu to iu wa tare naru ka aeru toki sae omokakushi suru
- English Translation
-
Like a fine-meshed basket's lid,
"let us meet," who was it said so,
who was it, pray tell?
Even now that we have met
you hide your face from me
- Meaning
- Who was it that said "Let us meet"? Even now that we are together, you hide your face from me.
- Commentary
-
Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2916
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
The poet teases the beloved who, though she was the one who said "Let us meet," hides her face in shyness now that they are together. Fondness for the shy beloved is expressed in the form of a light reproach.
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, "tamakatsuma," refers to a woven basket; because its lid and body fit together, it is a pillow word for "au," to meet. The same pillow word appears in poems 3152 and 3193 in this book.
Line two, "awamu to iu wa," means "the one who said let us meet."
Line three, "tare naru ka," means "who was it?", and the poem pauses here.
Line four, "aeru toki sae," means "even when we meet."
Line five, "omokakushi suru," means "you hide your face in shyness," teasingly reproaching a beloved who invited the meeting yet now turns bashful.
- Author
- Unknown
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
-
Imo to iwaba nameshi kashikoshi shikasuga ni kakemaku hoshiki koto ni aru kamo
- Next Poem
-
Utsutsu ni ka imo ga kimaseru ime ni kamo ware ka madoeru koi no shigeki ni