別れてはいつ逢ひ見むと思ふらん
限りある世の命ともなし
限りある世の命ともなし
- Roma-ji
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Wakarete wa itsu aimimu to omouran kagiri aru yo no inochi to mo nashi
- English Translation
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Once we are parted,
when can we expect to meet—
so you think, perhaps,
but this life in a world that ends
seems no life that will last so long
- Meaning
- Once we have parted, when do you think we shall meet again? This life, in a world where all things end, does not seem one that will last that long.
- Commentary
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Book Nineteen Parting Poems 1319
Headnote: "When the priest Zen'yū was exiled to the province of Izu."
The poet asks when one could hope to meet again after parting, for life in this finite world seems unlikely to last until then. At parting from a monk being exiled to Izu, she grieves that she may never see him again within the bounds of a mortal life.
According to the headnote, it was composed when the priest Zen'yū was exiled to the province of Izu. The circumstances of his exile are not clear.
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, "Wakarete wa," means "once we have parted."
The second line, "itsu aimimu to," means "when shall we meet again."
The third line, "omouran," means "do you think," with "ran" present conjecture. The poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "kagiri aru yo no," means "of a world that has its end."
The last line, "inochi to mo nashi," means "seems no life at all," meaning that life does not seem likely to last until they meet.
- Author
- Ise
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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Somukarenu matsu no chitose no hodo yori mo tomo tomo to dani shitaware zo seshi