曇り夜のたどきも知らぬ山越えて
います君をばいつとか待たむ
います君をばいつとか待たむ
- Roma-ji
-
Kumoriyo no tadoki mo shiranu yama koete imasu kimi oba itsu to ka matamu
- English Translation
-
Like a cloudy night
that shows no path, the mountains
you will cross over;
going far away, my lord,
when may I hope you'll come
- Meaning
- You are crossing mountains as trackless as a cloudy night; when may I hope to see you return?
- Commentary
-
Book Twelve Poems Lamenting Parting 3186
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems Lamenting Parting"
A woman worries about when to expect the return of a man crossing mountains as pathless as a cloudy night. The night mountains with no clear view express anxiety about a journey with no return in sight.
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, "kumoriyo no," means "like a cloudy night," leading through its lack of any guide to "tadoki mo shiranu."
Line two, "tadoki mo shiranu," means "knowing no way."
Line three, "yama koete," means "crossing the mountains."
Line four, "imasu kimi oba," means "you who go," "imasu" being honorific.
Line five, "itsu to ka matamu," means "when should I expect you?", the same final line as poem 2946 in this book.
- Author
- Unknown
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Masokagami te ni torimochite miredo akanu kimi ni okurete ikeri tomo nashi
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Tatanazuku aogakiyama no henarinaba shibashiba kimi o koto towaji kamo