Utatane no toko ni tomareru shiratama wa kimi ga okikeru tsuyu ni ya aruran - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

うたた寝の床にとまれる白玉は
君がおきける露にやあるらん

Roma-ji: Utatane no toko ni tomareru shiratama wa kimi ga okikeru tsuyu ni ya aruran
English Translation: The pearls of white
left behind upon the bed
where you dozed a while—
are they the dew you laid there
when you rose and went away
Meaning: These white jewels left behind on the bed where you dozed—are they the dew you left lying there when you rose and went away?
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems IV 1284

Headnote: "A certain priest visited the house of Lord Minamoto no Hitoshi and dropped an ornament from his rosary; sending it back the next morning, he wrote this."
The poet asks whether the white jewels left on the bed where the guest dozed are dew he left on rising. Seeing the rosary beads a priest dropped as the dew of a lovers' parting at dawn, he returns them with a witty poem dressed as a love song.
According to the headnote, a priest visited his house and dropped an ornament of his rosary, and the poet attached this when sending it back the next morning. The next poem is the priest's reply, and the two form an exchange.
The poet, "Lord Minamoto no Hitoshi," is Minamoto no Hitoshi. Of the Saga Genji line, he rose to Consultant. The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu includes his poem "Asajiu no Ono no shinohara shinoburedo."

The first line, "Utatane no," means "of a brief doze."
The second line, "toko ni tomareru," means "left behind on the bed."
The third line, "shiratama wa," means "the white jewels," the dropped rosary beads seen as dew.
The fourth line, "kimi ga okikeru," is a pivot word on "oki," both dew being laid and rising from bed: what you laid there when you rose.
The last line, "tsuyu ni ya aruran," means "are they dew, I wonder," with the interrogative binding particle "ya" closed by the attributive "ran." It is taken up by "oku tsuyu no" in the third line of the next poem.
Author: Minamoto no Hitoshi
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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