ひたすらに厭ひ果てぬるものならば
吉野の山に行方知られじ
吉野の山に行方知られじ
- Roma-ji
-
Hitasura ni itoihatenuru mono naraba yoshino no yama ni yukue shirareji
- English Translation
-
If you have truly
come to loathe me utterly,
then to Yoshino,
deep into those mountains, I'll go
where no one will know my way
- Meaning
- If you have come to loathe me completely, then I will go into the mountains of Yoshino, where no one will know what has become of me.
- Commentary
-
Book Twelve Love Poems IV 808
Headnote: "Sent to a woman."
The poet says that if she has come to loathe him completely, he will go into the mountains of Yoshino where no one will know his whereabouts. Declaring that he will hide in Yoshino, a traditional place of retreat from the world, he laments her coldness while trying to win her back.
According to the headnote, the poem was sent to a woman. The next poem, 809, is Ise's reply, revealing that the woman was Ise.
The poet, called "the posthumous Chancellor," was Fujiwara no Tokihira. The eldest son of Regent Fujiwara no Mototsune, he rose to Minister of the Left and was posthumously granted the title of Chancellor. He is also known for having Sugawara no Michizane sent away to Dazaifu.
The first line, "Hitasura ni," means "utterly, wholeheartedly."
The second line, "itoihatenuru," means "have come to loathe me completely," with "nuru" the attributive of the perfective auxiliary "nu."
The third line, "mono naraba," means "if it is so," expressing a supposition.
The fourth line, "yoshino no yama ni," means "into the mountains of Yoshino" in Yamato, long sung as a place to withdraw from the world. The next poem, 809, also replies by naming Yoshino.
The last line, "yukue shirareji," means "I will not let my whereabouts be known," with "ji" expressing negative intention.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Tokihira
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Tane wa aredo au koto kataki iwa no ue no matsu nite toshi o furu wa kai nashi
- Next Poem
-
Waga yado to tanomu yoshino ni kimi shi iraba onaji kazashi o sashi koso wa seme