直に行かずこゆ巨勢道から石瀬踏み
求めぞ我が来し恋ひてすべなみ
求めぞ我が来し恋ひてすべなみ
- Roma-ji
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Tada ni yukazu koyu koseji kara iwase fumi motome zo waga koshi koite sube nami
- English Translation
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Not the straight way there,
but from here by Kose road,
treading rocky shoals,
seeking you I have come—
longing, and no help for it
- Meaning
- Not going straight, but taking the Kose road from here, treading the rocky shallows, I have come in search of you—for I longed for you and could do nothing else.
- Commentary
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Book Thirteen Dialogue Poems 3320
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Envoy"
This poem follows the preceding envoy. Unable to wait for her husband gone to Kii, she says she came seeking him by the Kose road, treading the rocky shallows. It is nearly the same as 3257 in this book, which reads “not coming straight” and “struggling I came.” When the left note to 3257 says that a certain text makes that poem the envoy to the chōka about the abalone pearls of Kii and that it is “given below,” it refers to this poem.
The poet is unknown. Book Thirteen is built mainly of anonymous chōka and their envoys, and many of its poems preserve the air of old songs and ritual verse.
The first line, “tada ni yukazu,” means “not going straight,” differing by a single word from “tada ni kozu” in 3257; it is hypermetric.
In the second line, “koyu” means “from here” and “kara” marks the route: “by way of the Kose road” toward Kii.
The third line, “iwase fumi,” means “treading the rocky shallows,” showing the hardship of the way.
The fourth line, “motome zo waga koshi,” means “seeking you I came,” with the past “ki” in the attributive “shi” in kakari-musubi with “zo.” In 3257 it reads “nazumi zo waga koshi.”
The closing line, “koite sube nami,” means “because I longed and could do nothing,” the reason for coming added by inversion.
- Source
- Manyoshu
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