いにしへも契りてけりなうちはぶき
飛び立ちぬべし天の羽衣
飛び立ちぬべし天の羽衣
- Roma-ji
-
Inishie mo chigiritekeri na uchihabuki tobitachinubeshi ama no hagoromo
- English Translation
-
Long ago, it seems,
we must have pledged it, you and I—
beating my wings,
I feel I may fly off now
in this robe of heavenly plumes
- Meaning
- It seems we pledged this long ago; beating my wings, I feel I might fly off at any moment in this heavenly robe of feathers.
- Commentary
-
Book Fifteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1112
Headnote: "Reply."
The poet says that this must have been pledged long ago, and that, beating his wings, he might fly off at any moment in this heavenly robe of feathers. Likening the court robe he received to a celestial feather robe, he expresses his joy at the promotion and his gratitude for an old friendship with the giver.
It is Hiroakira's reply to Fujiwara no Morosuke's poem before it.
The poet, "Lord Hiroakira," is Minamoto no Hiroakira. A son of Prince Tokiyo, son of Emperor Uda, he rose to Middle Counselor.
The first line, "Inishie mo," means "long ago, too," suggesting his old bond with Morosuke.
The second line, "chigiritekeri na," means "we must have pledged it," with "tekeri" the perfective and past and "na" exclamatory. The poem pauses here.
The third line, "uchihabuki," means "beating my wings," the flapping of a bird's wings.
The fourth line, "tobitachinubeshi," means "I may well fly off," with "nubeshi" strong conjecture. It describes his heart lifting with the joy of promotion. The poem pauses here.
The last line, "ama no hagoromo," is the feather robe worn by heavenly beings, a figure for the court robe he received. It ends on a noun.
- Author
- Minamoto no Moroakira
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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