山彦の声にたてても年は経ぬ
我が物思ひを知らぬ人聞け
我が物思ひを知らぬ人聞け
- Roma-ji
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Yamabiko no koe ni tatete mo toshi wa henu waga monoomoi o shiranu hito kike
- English Translation
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Like an echo's call
I have cried my love aloud,
yet the years have passed—
you who do not know my grief,
you who do not know, now hear
- Meaning
- Though I have cried out my love aloud like a mountain echo, the years have gone by without an answer. You who do not know the sorrow of my love, hear me now.
- Commentary
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Book Twelve Love Poems IV 797
Headnote: "Sent to a woman."
The poet says that though he has cried out like an echo, the years have passed, and he commands the one who does not know his longing to hear him. Facing someone who will not answer, he presses the pain of a love grown long with years in a forceful imperative.
According to the headnote, the poem was sent to a woman. 876 in this book also features a mountain echo, likening a letter to the echo's answer, so the two form a reversed pairing of call and reply.
The poet, called "the Biwa Minister of the Left," was Fujiwara no Nakahira. A son of Regent Fujiwara no Mototsune, he rose to Minister of the Left. He was so called because he lived at the Biwa mansion, and he is also known for exchanging love poems with Ise.
The first line, "Yamabiko no," means "like a mountain echo," drawing on the voice that rebounds from hills and valleys.
The second line, "koe ni tatete mo," means "even though I raised my voice," expressing how he has voiced his feelings aloud.
The third line, "toshi wa henu," means "the years have passed," with "nu" a perfective auxiliary. The poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "waga monoomoi o," means "my sorrow of love."
The last line, "shiranu hito kike," means "you who do not know, hear," closing the poem with a strong imperative.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Nakahira
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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