清けれど玉ならぬ身のわびしきは
磨けるものに言はぬなりけり
磨けるものに言はぬなりけり
- Roma-ji
-
Kiyokeredo tama naranu mi no wabishiki wa migakeru mono ni iwanu narikeri
- English Translation
-
Though I am pure,
what pains this self of mine,
which is no jewel,
is that no one ever calls it
a thing that has been polished
- Meaning
- Though I am innocent, what grieves me, being no jewel, is that no one will call me something polished and pure.
- Commentary
-
Book Eleven Love Poems III 726
Headnote: "When a baseless rumor arose."
The poet says that though she is innocent, what pains her, being no jewel, is that no one calls her something polished. With a groundless rumor spread about her, she laments having no way to prove her purity as a jewel might show its shine.
According to the headnote, the poem was composed when a baseless rumor had arisen. Following the preceding poem, 725, it takes up the theme of a false rumor.
The poet, Ise, was a daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugukage, Governor of Ise, and served Onshi, consort of Emperor Uda. One of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals, her "naniwagata mijikaki ashi no fushi no ma mo" is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
The first line, "Kiyokeredo," means "though I am pure," referring to her innocence.
The second line, "tama naranu mi no," means "I who am not a jewel."
The third line, "wabishiki wa," means "what is painful." It is the same as the third lines of 703 and 704 in this book, and together with "narikeri" in the last line follows the same pattern.
The fourth line, "migakeru mono ni," means "as something polished," drawing on polishing a jewel to make it shine.
The last line, "iwanu narikeri," means "is that no one says so," with "narikeri" expressing a sigh of realization.
- Author
- Ise
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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Nakina zo to hito ni wa iite arinu beshi kokoro no towaba ikaga kotaen
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Au koto o iza ho ni idenan shinosusuki shinobihatsu beki mono naranaku ni