多由比潟潮満ちわたるいづゆかも
愛しき背ろが我がり通はむ
愛しき背ろが我がり通はむ
- Roma-ji
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Tayuigata shio michiwataru izu yu kamo kanashiki sero ga wagari kayowamu
- English Translation
-
On Tayui's flats
the tide has risen far and wide:
by what way, I wonder,
will my dear man come to me,
come to visit me tonight?
- Meaning
- The tide has filled the flats of Tayui—by what way will my dear man find his way to me?
- Commentary
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Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3549
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
The tide has filled the Tayui flats and blocked the way, so a woman wonders by what route her beloved will come to her. Concern for his path carries her eager waiting.
It is one of the love exchanges. Tayuigata is thought by some to be Tayu Bay in Echizen, near present-day Tsuruga in Fukui. As in 3366 from Sagami, "Minanosegawa ni shio mitsunamu ka," the rising tide blocks love's road.
The poet is unknown. The Azuma uta are thought to have been sung among the people of the eastern provinces, and they are marked by plain, open-hearted expression mixed with local dialect.
First line, "tayuigata": A tideflat of unknown location, thought by some to be in Echizen.
Second line, "shio michiwataru": "The tide has filled it all"; the poem pauses here.
Third line, "izu yu kamo": "Izu yu" means by which way, and "kamo" asks a question.
Fourth line, "kanashiki sero ga": "Sero" is an eastern endearment for a lover, also seen in 3548.
Final line, "wagari kayowamu": "Wagari" means to me, and "mu" is conjecture: will he come?
- Source
- Manyoshu
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