いとせめて恋しきたびの唐衣
ほどなくかへす人もあらなん
ほどなくかへす人もあらなん
- Roma-ji
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Ito semete koishiki tabi no karakoromo hodo naku kaesu hito mo aranan
- English Translation
-
Achingly I long—
this Chinese robe of your journey,
each time I miss you,
would that someone soon
might turn it back, send you home
- Meaning
- How achingly I miss you—I wish someone would soon turn back the Chinese robe of this journey and send you home to me again.
- Commentary
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Book Nineteen Parting Poems 1316
Headnote: "Sent to a woman he knew when she was going to a province."
The poet wishes there were someone to soon turn back the Chinese robe of the journey he so achingly misses. To a woman dear to him going down to the provinces, he joins turning a robe back with sending her back, wishing she would soon return to the capital.
According to the headnote, he sent this to a woman he knew when she was leaving for a province. The next poem is her reply, and the two form an exchange.
The poet, "Lord Kintada," is Minamoto no Kintada. A grandson of Emperor Kōkō, he rose to Controller of the Right. One of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals, he was also known as a master blender of incense.
The first line, "Ito semete," means "achingly, desperately."
The second line, "koishiki tabi no," is a pivot word on "tabi," both journey and each time: the journey I long for, and each time I long.
The third line, "karakoromo," means "a fine Chinese robe," a figure for the departing woman.
The fourth line, "hodo naku kaesu," is a pivot word on "kaesu," both turning a robe back and sending someone home. It draws on the belief that sleeping with one's robe turned inside out brings a dream of one's beloved. "Turn back" is an associated word with "robe."
The last line, "hito mo aranan," means "would that there were someone," with "nan" a particle of request.
- Author
- Minamoto no Kintada
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Hatsukari no ware mo sora naru hodo nareba kimi mo monouki tabi ni ya aruran
- Next Poem
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Karakoromo tatsu hi o yoso ni kiku hito wa kaesu bakari no hodo mo koishi o