生ける世に恋といふものを相見ねば
恋のうちにも我れぞ苦しき
恋のうちにも我れぞ苦しき
- Roma-ji
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Ikeru yo ni koi to iu mono o aimineba koi no uchi ni mo ware zo kurushiki
- English Translation
-
In this life I live,
the thing that people call love
I had never met,
so of all who are in love
it is I who suffer most
- Meaning
- Never having known the thing called love in all my life, I suffer more than anyone in love.
- Commentary
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Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2930
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
A woman laments that, never having known love before, she suffers more than anyone in love. The confusion and pain of a first love are frankly expressed.
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, "ikeru yo ni," means "in this life I live."
Line two, "koi to iu mono o," means "the thing called love."
Line three, "aimineba," means "since I had never met it," showing this is the poet's first love.
Line four, "koi no uchi ni mo," means "even among all who love."
Line five, "ware zo kurushiki": "zo" is concluded by the attributive "kurushiki," stressing that her love is the most painful of all.
- Author
- Unknown
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
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Yoiyoi ni waga tachimatsu ni kedashiku mo kimi kimasazu wa kurushikarubeshi
- Next Poem
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Omoitsutsu oreba kurushi mo nubatama no yoru ni itaraba ware koso yukame