葦垣の隈処に立ちて我妹子が
袖もしほほに泣きしぞ思はゆ
袖もしほほに泣きしぞ思はゆ
- Roma-ji
-
Ashikaki no kumato ni tachite wagimoko ga sode mo shihoho ni nakishi zo mowayu
- English Translation
-
In the corner of
the fence woven of reeds she stood,
my dearest wife,
and wept till her sleeves were soaked;
that is what comes back to me
- Meaning
- Standing in the corner of the reed fence, my wife wept till her sleeves were drenched; that sight keeps coming back to me.
- Commentary
-
Book Twenty Frontier Guard Poems 4357
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems of the frontier guards sent in rotation to the provinces of Tsukushi in the second month of Tenpyō Shōhō 7, year of the wood sheep."
Standing in the corner of the reed fence, my wife wept till her sleeves were soaked; that comes back to me: the poem paints the parting scene vividly. It is the eleventh poem from Kazusa. By picturing his wife weeping in the shelter of the fence, out of others' sight, it conveys the grief of parting memorably.
The author, Osakabe no Chikuni, is recorded as a regular guard from Ichihara District in Kazusa; nothing more is known of him.
The first line, "ashikaki no," is a fence woven of reeds, a scene around the house.
The second line, "kumato ni tachite," "standing in the corner's shade," shows his wife avoiding others' eyes.
The third line, "wagimoko ga," is an affectionate name for his wife.
The fourth line, "sode mo shihoho ni," uses shihoho ni for being drenched with tears.
The closing line, "nakishi zo mowayu," is resolved by zo with the attributive mowayu, stressing that the sight of her weeping returns unbidden.
- Author
- Osakabe no Chikuni
- Source
- Manyoshu
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