白浪のうち出づる浜の浜千鳥
あとや尋ぬるしるべなるらん
あとや尋ぬるしるべなるらん
- Roma-ji
-
Shiranami no uchiizuru hama no hamachidori ato ya tazunuru shirube naruran
- English Translation
-
On the beach where
the white waves come breaking in,
the plovers' tracks—
might these traces of my brush
be the guide to find you
- Meaning
- Like the tracks of plovers on the beach where white waves break, might these traces of my brush be the guide that leads me to you?
- Commentary
-
Book Twelve Love Poems IV 828
Headnote: "Sent to a woman."
The poet wonders whether the tracks of the plovers on the beach where white waves come in might serve as a guide to seek her out. Drawing on the tradition that likens plover tracks to writing, he hopes his letter will become a way to reach her.
According to the headnote, the poem was sent to a woman. 836 in this book likewise layers handwriting over the "ato," the tracks, of water birds, singing of a love carried on through letters.
The poet, listed as "Asatada Ason," was Fujiwara no Asatada. A son of Fujiwara no Sadakata, the Sanjō Minister of the Right, he rose to Middle Counselor. One of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals, his "au koto no taete shi naku wa nakanaka ni" is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
The first line, "Shiranami no," means "where the white waves."
The second line, "uchiizuru hama no," means "of the beach where they break."
The third line, "hamachidori," means "the plovers of the beach," repeating "hama" from the line above to set the rhythm.
The fourth line, "ato ya tazunuru," means "seeking the tracks," with "ato" meaning both the plovers' "footprints" and the "brush traces" of a letter. "Ya" is an interrogative binding particle.
The last line, "shirube naruran," means "might they be a guide," closing with the attributive "ran" in answer to "ya" in the fourth line.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Asatada
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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Ōshima ni mizu o hakobishi hayafune no hayaku mo hito ni aimiteshi kana