石麻呂に我れ物申す夏痩せに
よしといふものぞ鰻捕り食せ
よしといふものぞ鰻捕り食せ
- Roma-ji
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Iwamaro ni ware mono mōsu natsuyase ni yoshi to iu mono zo munagi tori mese
- English Translation
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To Iwamaro
I would humbly say this much:
for the summer's thinness
they say it does a body good—
catch an eel, my friend, and eat!
- Meaning
- To Iwamaro I humbly say: they claim eels are good for summer thinness, so go catch some and eat them!
- Commentary
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Book Sixteen Poems with Tales of Origin and Miscellaneous Poems 3853
Headnote: "Two poems laughing at a thin man."
The poet urges the scrawny Iwamaro to catch and eat eels, said to be good for summer thinness. Pretending concern for a close friend, he teases him about how thin he is. The poem is often cited as an early example of eating eel in summer.
According to the left note, there was a man named Yoshida no Muraji Oyu, called Iwamaro, the son of the so-called Ninkyō. He was extremely thin, and however much he ate and drank he looked like a starving man. So Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi made these poems in jest to laugh at him. The kundoku ends with a reading note on the word mese; as it is not part of the poem, it has been omitted.
Ōtomo no Yakamochi was the son of Ōtomo no Tabito; he held posts including Governor of Etchū and rose to Junior Third Rank and Middle Counselor. He is thought to have been deeply involved in compiling the Man'yōshū.
First line, "Iwamaro ni," means "to Iwamaro," addressing Yoshida no Oyu fondly by his familiar name.
Second line, "ware mono mōsu," means "I humbly say," and the poem pauses here. The formal phrasing makes it all the funnier.
Third line, "natsuyase ni," means "for summer thinness," losing weight in the summer heat.
Fourth line, "yoshi to iu mono zo," means "they say it is good." The particle zo presses the point.
Final line, "munagi tori mese," means "catch an eel and eat." Mesu is an honorific for eating, so he teases with polite language. The next poem, 3854, also speaks of eels, and the two form a pair.
- Author
- Otomo no Yakamochi
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Kokoro o shi mugau no sato ni okite araba hakoya no yama o mimaku chikakemu
- Next Poem
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Yasu yasu mo ikeraba aramu o hata ya hata munagi o toru to kawa ni nagaru na