昨日まで千代と契りし君を我が
死出の山路に尋ぬべきかな
死出の山路に尋ぬべきかな
- Roma-ji
-
Kinō made chiyo to chigirishi kimi o waga shide no yamaji ni tazunu beki kana
- English Translation
-
You with whom until
yesterday I pledged a thousand years—
must I now set out
to seek you on the mountain road
that leads to the land of death
- Meaning
- You, with whom only yesterday I vowed to share a thousand years—must I now seek you on the mountain road to the land of the dead?
- Commentary
-
Book Twenty Congratulatory Poems 1405
Headnote: "When the Fourth Princess passed away."
The poet asks whether he must now seek on the mountain road of death the one with whom he vowed a thousand years until yesterday. Suddenly losing the wife with whom he had pledged a thousand years, he grieves that now he can only search for her on the road to the next world.
According to the headnote, it was composed when the Fourth Princess died. The Fourth Princess seems to be Princess Kinshi, a daughter of Emperor Daigo who became the poet's wife. The "thousand years" celebrated in congratulatory poems of this book, such as 1373, here becomes a promise never kept.
The poet, "the Minister of the Right," is Fujiwara no Morosuke. The second son of Fujiwara no Tadahira, he rose to Minister of the Right and was called Kujō-dono. His daughter Anshi became the empress of Emperor Murakami.
The first line, "Kinō made," means "until only yesterday."
The second line, "chiyo to chigirishi," means "with whom I vowed a thousand years."
The third line, "kimi o waga," means "you, I."
The fourth line, "shide no yamaji ni," means "on the mountain road of death," which the dead are said to cross.
The last line, "tazunu beki kana," means "must I seek you," with "kana" exclamatory.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Morosuke
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
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