能登の海に釣する海人の漁り火の
光りにいませ月待ちがてり
光りにいませ月待ちがてり
- Roma-ji
-
Noto no umi ni tsuri suru ama no isaribi no hikari ni imase tsuki machigateri
- English Translation
-
On the sea of Noto
the fisherfolk who angle
light their fishing fires;
come by the glow of them,
while you wait for the moon
- Meaning
- Come to me by the light of the fishing fires the fisherfolk burn as they angle on the sea of Noto, while you wait for the moon to rise.
- Commentary
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Book Twelve Thoughts Arising on Journeys 3169
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thoughts Arising on Journeys"
A woman invites a traveler to come by the light of the fishing fires on the sea of Noto while he waits for the moon. There is wit in urging his visit under the pretext of waiting for the moonrise, and some take it as a song by a wandering entertainer met on the journey.
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, "Noto no umi ni," means "on the sea of Noto" in Ishikawa Prefecture, a hypermetric line of six syllables.
Line two, "tsuri suru ama no," means "of the fisherfolk who angle."
Line three, "isaribi no," means "of the fires burned at night to draw fish." Poem 3170 in this book also features fishing fires.
Line four, "hikari ni imase," means "come by that light," and the poem pauses here.
Line five, "tsuki machigateri," means "while waiting for the moon," the inversion adding a pretext for the visit.
- Author
- Unknown
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Koromode no Mawaka no ura no managotsuchi ma naku toki nashi aga kouraku wa
- Next Poem
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Shika no ama no tsuri shi tomoseru isaribi no honoka ni imo o mimu yoshi mogamo