Sumiyoshi no kishi no shiranami yoruyoru wa ama no yosome ni miru zo kanashiki - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

住吉の岸の白浪よるよるは
海人のよそ目に見るぞ悲しき

Roma-ji: Sumiyoshi no kishi no shiranami yoruyoru wa ama no yosome ni miru zo kanashiki
English Translation: At Sumiyoshi
the white waves on the shore
draw near night by night,
yet to watch, like the fishers,
only from afar—how sad
Meaning: Like the white waves that draw near the shore of Sumiyoshi night after night, I come close, yet can only gaze from afar like a fisher looking on—and that is sad.
Commentary: Book Nine Love Poems I 561

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet says that, like the white waves drawing near the shore of Sumiyoshi night after night, he comes close, yet can only gaze from afar like a fisher looking on, and that is sad. The ache of a love that can only watch from outside is entrusted to the shore scene at Sumiyoshi.
599 in this book also sings of the white waves that draw near the shore of Sumiyoshi night after night, so that a poem using the same scene stands near the end of the book as well.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us. The text gives the poet as "yomibito mo," which is treated here as "anonymous."

The first line, "Sumiyoshi no," means "of Sumiyoshi in Settsu," a poetic place known for its pines and beach.
The second line, "kishi no shiranami," means "the white waves breaking on the shore," and the first two lines form a preface leading to "yoruyoru" in the third line.
In the third line, "yoruyoru" is a pivot word meaning both waves "drawing near again and again" and "night after night." The second line of 599 in this book also places "yoruyoru."
The fourth line, "ama no yosome ni," means "as a fisher looks on from afar."
The last line, "miru zo kanashiki," means "it is sad to watch," the particle "zo" and the attributive "kanashiki" forming a kakarimusubi pattern. It is the same line that closes 556 in this book.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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