ま金ふく丹生のま朱の色に出て
言はなくのみぞ我が恋ふらくは
言はなくのみぞ我が恋ふらくは
- Roma-ji
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Makane fuku niu no masoho no iro ni dete iwanaku nomi zo a ga kouraku wa
- English Translation
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Where they smelt the ore,
like the red earth of Niu,
showing in its hue—
only I do not speak it out,
this love that I bear for you.
- Meaning
- Like the red earth of Niu, where they smelt the metal—it is only that I do not show it and speak it aloud, this love of mine.
- Commentary
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Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3560
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
It is only that he does not show it openly like the red earth of Niu, the singer says; his love is by no means shallow. The depth of a hidden love is shown paradoxically by invoking vivid vermilion.
It is one of the love exchanges. Niu was a place yielding mercury and cinnabar, and there are many places of that name. Like 3376 from Musashi, it sings of love showing through "iro ni deru."
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, "makane fuku": "Makane" is iron or metal, and "fuku" is smelting, used almost as a pillow word for Niu.
Second line, "niu no masoho no": "Niu" is a place yielding cinnabar, and "masoho" is red earth; the first two lines form a preface leading to "iro ni dete."
Third line, "iro ni dete": "Iro ni deru" is to show openly, the same words as "iro ni zu na yume" in 3376 and "iro ni deme ya mo" in 3503.
Fourth line, "iwanaku nomi zo": "Zo" is a binding particle: it is only that I do not say it. The poem pauses here.
Final line, "a ga kouraku wa": "Kouraku" means my loving; the inversion names the theme at the end.
- Source
- Manyoshu
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