限りなく思ふ心は筑波嶺の
このもやいかがあらむとすらむ
このもやいかがあらむとすらむ
- Roma-ji
-
Kagiri naku omou kokoro wa tsukubane no konomo ya ikaga aramu to suramu
- English Translation
-
My heart that longs for you
without limit stands as high
as Tsukuba's peak,
but on this side, this skirt of mine—
how will it turn out, I wonder
- Meaning
- My boundless love for you rises as high as Mount Tsukuba, but this near face—this skirt I have sewn—how will it turn out, I wonder?
- Commentary
-
Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems II 1150
Headnote: "When someone had me sew a skirt, sending it after sewing it."
The poet says that her boundless feeling is like Mount Tsukuba, but wonders how this skirt will turn out. Sending a skirt she was asked to sew, she lets Tsukuba's "konomo," this near face, also mean "kono mo," this skirt, and modestly says that though made with care, its sewing may not be fine.
According to the headnote, someone had her sew a skirt, and she sent this with it when it was done. Since the Kokinshu Eastland poem "Tsukubane no konomo kanomo ni kage wa aredo kimi ga mikage ni masu kage wa nashi," Mount Tsukuba has been tied to "konomo kanomo," this face and that.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.
The first line, "Kagiri naku," means "without limit."
The second line, "omou kokoro wa," means "my heart that thinks of you."
The third line, "tsukubane no," means "of Mount Tsukuba" in Hitachi, likening boundless feeling to a high mountain and leading to "konomo" in the fourth line.
The fourth line, "konomo ya ikaga," means "how is this face," with "konomo" joining this near face of Tsukuba and "kono mo," this skirt she has sewn.
The last line, "aramu to suramu," means "how will it be," with "ramu" conjecture about the present.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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