人言の頼みがたさは難波なる
葦の裏葉のうらみつべしな
葦の裏葉のうらみつべしな
- Roma-ji
-
Hitogoto no tanomigatasa wa naniwa naru ashi no uraba no uramitsubeshi na
- English Translation
-
Your words are so hard
to place my trust in, that like
reeds of Naniwa
turning up their undersides,
I'll surely show my resentment
- Meaning
- Your words are so hard to rely on that, like the reeds of Naniwa turning up their leaves in the wind, I am sure to end up showing you my resentment.
- Commentary
-
Book Thirteen Love Poems V 943
Headnote: "To someone loved in secret."
The poet says that because the beloved's words are so hard to rely on, like the reeds of Naniwa showing their undersides, he is sure to end up resenting her. He overlays the reed leaves blown over by the wind to show their undersides with his heart that resents an unreliable lover.
According to the headnote, it was sent to someone loved in secret. Following 941, it brings in Naniwa bay, and the reeds of Naniwa also echo "naniwa naru" in 960.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.
The first line, "Hitogoto no," means "of that person's words."
The second line, "tanomigatasa wa," means "how hard they are to trust."
The third line, "naniwa naru," means "in Naniwa," reaching "ashi," reeds, in the fourth line. Naniwa was famous for its reeds.
The fourth line, "ashi no uraba no," means "of the undersides of the reed leaves," leading to "urami" in the last line as the leaves turn over.
The last line, "uramitsubeshi na," means "I am sure to resent," with "urami" joining "urami," showing the underside, and "urami," resentment. "Tsubeshi" is a confident conjecture and "na" an exclamatory final particle.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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Nagametsutsu hito matsu yoi no yobukodori izukata e to ka yukikaeruramu
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Hito hakaru kokoro no kuma wa kitanakute kiyoki nagisa o ikade sugiken