小山田の苗代水は絶えぬとも
心の池のいひは放たじ
心の池のいひは放たじ
- Roma-ji
-
Oyamada no nawashiromizu wa taenu tomo kokoro no ike no ii wa hanataji
- English Translation
-
Though the water
for the seedbeds of the hill fields
should run dry,
I will not pull the sluice
from the pond within my heart
- Meaning
- Even if the water for the seedbeds in the little hill field runs dry, I will not pull the sluice from the pond of my heart, nor will I cast you off with a word.
- Commentary
-
Book Eleven Love Poems III 791
Headnote: "When a man she had been talking with, at a loss in his courtship, said, 'What am I to do? At least tell me plainly no.'"
The poet says that though the seedbed water may run dry, she will not pull the sluice of her heart's pond, that is, will not cast him off with a word. To a man who, weary of courting, demands that she simply refuse him, she answers that she will not reject him outright.
According to the headnote, a man she had been corresponding with, at a loss, said he did not know what to do and asked her to just tell him no, and she composed this poem.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us. According to the headnote, it is the woman's poem.
The first line, "Oyamada no," means "of the little hill field," with "o" a prefix.
The second line, "nawashiromizu wa," means "the water drawn to the seedbeds."
The third line, "taenu tomo," means "even if it runs dry," overlaying the ending of their bond.
The fourth line, "kokoro no ike no," likens the heart to a pond, continuing the associations of field and water from the first line.
In the last line, "ii wa hanataji," "ii" is a pivot word meaning both "ihi," a sluice that draws water, and "ii," speaking. "Ji" expresses negative intention, answering his words, "tell me plainly."
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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Aimite mo tsutsumu omoi no wabishiki wa hitoma ni nomi zo ne wa nakarekeru
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Chiyo hemu to chigiriokiteshi himematsu no nezashisometeshi yado wa wasureji