橡の一重の衣うらもなく
あるらむ子ゆゑ恋ひわたるかも
あるらむ子ゆゑ恋ひわたるかも
- Roma-ji
-
Tsurubami no hitoe no koromo ura mo naku aruramu ko yue koiwataru kamo
- English Translation
-
Like a single robe
dyed in acorn-gray, unlined,
with no hidden heart
she must be, and yet for her
I go on longing still
- Meaning
- Like an unlined robe dyed in acorn gray, she must be without a care, yet for her sake I go on longing.
- Commentary
-
Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 2968
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
Using an unlined single robe as an introduction, the poem sings of one-sided love for a girl who is surely carefree and unaware. The wordplay overlapping the robe's lining with the inner heart is its highlight.
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, "tsurubami no," refers to a robe dyed with a decoction of acorns. Poem 2965 in this book opens with the same line.
Line two, "hitoe no koromo," is an unlined robe, which with line one forms an introduction leading to "ura."
Line three, "ura mo naku," shifts from "a robe without lining" to "without a care, artless." "Ura" is a pivot word meaning both the lining and the heart.
Line four, "aruramu ko yue," means "for the girl who must be so."
Line five, "koiwataru kamo," means "I go on longing," showing one-sided love for an unaware beloved.
- Author
- Unknown
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
-
Toshi no heba mitsutsu shinoe to imo ga iishi koromo no nuime mireba kanashi mo
- Next Poem
-
Tokikinu no omoimidarete kouredomo nani no yue zo to tou hito mo nashi