いなせとも言ひ放たれず憂きものは
身を心ともせぬ世なりけり
身を心ともせぬ世なりけり
- Roma-ji
-
Inase tomo iihanatarezu uki mono wa mi o kokoro tomo senu yo narikeri
- English Translation
-
Neither no nor yes
can I tell you plainly now—
what is truly hard
is a world where I cannot do
with myself as my heart would
- Meaning
- I cannot answer you plainly, neither no nor yes. What is truly painful is this world, where I cannot do with myself as my heart would wish.
- Commentary
-
Book Thirteen Love Poems V 937
Headnote: "Composed when a man told a woman closely guarded by her parents to say plainly whether it was no or yes."
The poet says she cannot say plainly either no or yes, for what is painful is a world where she cannot do with herself as her heart wishes. Lamenting a life constrained under her parents' watch, she tells the man who demands a clear answer why she cannot reply by her own will.
According to the headnote, a man told a woman whose parents kept close watch over her to say plainly whether it was no or yes, and she answered with this. It is another poem by Ise following the preceding poem, 936.
The poet, Ise, was a daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugukage. She served Empress Onshi, consort of Emperor Uda, and won the emperor's favor. One of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals, her "naniwagata mijikaki ashi no fushi no ma mo" is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
The first line, "Inase tomo," means "neither no nor yes," with "ina" refusal and "se" consent. It takes up the words of the headnote just as they are.
The second line, "iihanatarezu," means "I cannot say it outright," with "re" the potential auxiliary "ru." The poem pauses here.
The third line, "uki mono wa," means "what is painful."
The fourth line, "mi o kokoro tomo," means "my person as my heart wishes."
The last line, "senu yo narikeri," means "is a world where I cannot do so," with "keri" expressing realization.
- Author
- Ise
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Wabihatsuru toki sae mono no kanashiki wa izuko o shinobu kokoro naruran
- Next Poem
-
Kozu ya aran ki ya sen to nomi kawagishi no matsu no kokoro o omoiyaranan