白栲の袖折り返し恋ふればか
妹が姿の夢にし見ゆる
妹が姿の夢にし見ゆる
- Roma-ji
-
Shirotae no sode orikaeshi koureba ka imo ga sugata no ime ni shi miyuru
- English Translation
-
Is it that I fold
back my sleeve of pure white cloth
as I long for you,
that I see my darling's form
come to me in dreams
- Meaning
- Is it because I fold back my white sleeves as I long for her that my beloved appears in my dreams?
- Commentary
-
Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2937
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
Drawing on the folk belief that sleeping with one's sleeves folded back brings the beloved into one's dreams, the poet wonders whether that is why she has appeared. It shows a heart that takes the dream meeting as the effect of the charm.
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, "shirotae no," is a pillow word for "sode," sleeve.
Line two, "sode orikaeshi," refers to sleeping with one's sleeves folded back, considered a charm for seeing one's lover in a dream.
Line three, "koureba ka," means "is it because I long?", with "ka" marking a question concluded by the attributive "miyuru" in line five.
Line four, "imo ga sugata no," means "my beloved's form."
Line five, "ime ni shi miyuru," means "appears in my dream," with "shi" emphatic.
- Author
- Unknown
- Source
- Manyoshu
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