君のみや野辺に小松を引きにゆく
我もかたみに摘まむ若菜を
我もかたみに摘まむ若菜を
- Roma-ji
-
Kimi nomi ya nobe ni komatsu o hiki ni yuku ware mo katami ni tsumamu wakana o
- English Translation
-
Is it you alone
who goes into the meadows
to pull the young pines?
I too, in turn, with my basket,
shall pick the young greens there
- Meaning
- Are you the only one going out to the meadows to pull young pines? Not at all—I too shall go gathering young greens in my turn.
- Commentary
-
Book One Spring Poems I 7
Headnote: "On the Day of the Rat, a man sent word, 'Today I am going out to pull young pines,' and so she wrote."
To a man who sent word that he was going out to pull young pines on the Day of the Rat, the poet replies that she too will not be outdone and will go gathering young greens. A light spirit of rivalry, refusing to let him enjoy himself alone, comes through.
According to the headnote, a man wrote that he was off to pull pines on the Day of the Rat, and this was her answer. The man pulls pines and she gathers greens, forming a pair.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.
In the first line, "kimi nomi ya," "ya" is a rhetorical particle meaning "is it only you? surely not." It forms a kakarimusubi pattern with the attributive "yuku" of the third line.
The second line, "into the meadows to pull young pines," names the Day of the Rat custom. It carries on the "pine" of the preceding poem, 6.
The third line, "hiki ni yuku," concludes with the attributive form in answer to "ya," and the poem pauses here.
In the fourth line, "katami ni" means "mutually, in turn," while also suggesting "katami," a basket for holding young greens.
The last line, "shall pick the young greens," is an inversion that strongly declares her intention to gather the greens.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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Matsu ni kuru hito shi nakereba haru no no no wakana mo nani mo kai nakari keri
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Kasumi tatsu Kasuga no nobe no wakana ni mo nari mite shi kana hito mo tsumu ya to