難波女にみつとはなしに葦の根の
よの短くて明くるわびしさ
よの短くて明くるわびしさ
- Roma-ji
-
Naniwame ni mitsu to wa nashi ni ashi no ne no yo no mijikakute akuru wabishisa
- English Translation
-
Though I never met
the maid of Naniwa's port,
like the reeds' short joints
the night is all too brief,
and the dreariness of dawn
- Meaning
- Though I never met her, the maid of Naniwa, the night, as short as the joints of a reed, has already ended—how dreary the dawn.
- Commentary
-
Book Twelve Love Poems IV 887
Headnote: "When he went in secret but could not meet her."
The poet says that though he never met the woman of Naniwa, the night, short as the joints of a reed, has ended, and how dreary that is. He entrusts the emptiness of a night that dawned without meeting, after going to her in secret, to words associated with the reeds of Naniwa.
According to the headnote, the poem was composed when he went in secret but was unable to meet her. 870 in this book likewise laments the shortness of the night.
The poet, Ono no Michikaze, was a grandson of Ono no Takamura and a son of Ono no Kuzune. He was renowned as a calligrapher and is counted among the Three Brush Traces.
The first line, "Naniwame ni," means "with a woman of Naniwa," comparing his beloved to a woman of Naniwa.
The second line, "mitsu to wa nashi ni," means "without having met her," with "mitsu" joining "mitsu," having seen, and Mitsu, the port of Naniwa.
The third line, "ashi no ne no," means "of the reed roots," setting the reeds for which Naniwa is famed and leading into "yo" in the fourth line.
The fourth line, "yo no mijikakute," means "the night is short," with "yo" meaning both a reed's "joint" and "night."
The last line, "akuru wabishisa," means "the dreariness of dawn," ending on a noun to leave a lingering resonance.
- Author
- Ono no Michikaze
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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Chikaite mo nao omou ni wa makenikeri ta ga tame oshiki inochi naraneba
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Kaerubeki kata mo oboezu namidagawa izure ka wataru asase naruran