Chiri ni tatsu waga na kiyomen momoshiki no hito no kokoro o makura to mo gana - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

塵に立つ我が名清めん百敷の
人の心を枕ともがな

Roma-ji: Chiri ni tatsu waga na kiyomen momoshiki no hito no kokoro o makura to mo gana
English Translation: My name that rises
like the dust—how I would cleanse it!
Would that the hearts
of the people of the palace
might serve me as my pillow
Meaning: How I wish to cleanse my name, raised like dust! If only the hearts of the people at court could be my pillow, knowing the truth of my nights.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems IV 1266

Headnote: "When groundless rumors were always arising about her."
The poet wishes to cleanse her name, stirred up like dust, and longs for the hearts of the court to be her pillow. Taking the pillow as the witness that knows the truth of the bedchamber, she wishes the court's hearts might know the truth as a pillow does, and so clear her of baseless gossip.
According to the headnote, it was composed when groundless rumors were always arising about her.
The poet, Ise, was a daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugukage, Governor of Ise, and served Fujiwara no Onshi, consort of Emperor Uda. She received the emperor's favor and later bore Nakatsukasa to Prince Atsuyoshi. One of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals, she is represented in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu by "Naniwagata mijikaki ashi no fushi no ma mo."

The first line, "Chiri ni tatsu," means "rising like dust," describing how lightly her name is stirred up.
The second line, "waga na kiyomen," means "I would cleanse my name," with "n" intention. The poem pauses here, and "dust" and "cleanse" are associated words.
The third line, "momoshiki no," means "of the palace." The third line of 1291 of this book likewise speaks of the palace as "momoshiki."
The fourth line, "hito no kokoro o," means "the hearts of its people."
The last line, "makura to mo gana," means "would that they were my pillow," with "mogana" a wish. The pillow was thought to know the truth of the bedchamber. Poem 1269 of this book likewise ends "makura ni mo gana," wishing the heart were a pillow.
Author: Ise
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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