関越えて粟津の森のあはずとも
清水に見えし影を忘るな
清水に見えし影を忘るな
- Roma-ji
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Seki koete awazu no mori no awazu tomo shimizu ni mieshi kage o wasuru na
- English Translation
-
Crossing the barrier
to the woods of Awazu,
though we no longer meet,
the face once seen in the spring,
do not let it fade from you
- Meaning
- Even if you cross the barrier toward the woods of Awazu and we meet no more, do not forget the face you saw reflected in the clear spring there.
- Commentary
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Book Twelve Love Poems IV 801
Headnote: "When a person I knew well went off toward Ōmi."
The poet asks that even if they cross the barrier toward the woods of Awazu and the two no longer meet, the departing one should not forget the face reflected in the clear spring. She hopes that someone leaving for a distant place will keep the image of their parting in mind.
According to the headnote, the poem was composed when a close acquaintance went down toward Ōmi. The next poem, 802, is the reply, and the two form an exchange.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.
The first line, "Seki koete," means "crossing the barrier," referring to the Ōsaka Barrier on the road from the capital to Ōmi.
The second line, "awazu no mori no," means "of the woods of Awazu" in Ōmi, its repeated sound leading into "awazu" in the third line.
The third line, "awazu tomo," means "even if we do not meet," with "tomo" an adversative supposition.
The fourth line, "shimizu ni mieshi," means "seen reflected in the clear spring," alluding to the spring at the Ōsaka Barrier.
The last line, "kage o wasuru na," means "do not forget that image," with "na" a prohibitive particle.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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Korizuma no ura no shiranami tachiidete yoru hodo mo naku kaeru bakari ka
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Chikakereba nani ka wa shirushi ausaka no seki no hoka zo to omoitaenan