白露の置く妻にする女郎花
あなわづらはし人な手触れそ
あなわづらはし人な手触れそ
- Roma-ji
-
Shiratsuyu no oku tsuma ni suru ominaeshi ana wazurawashi hito na te fure so
- English Translation
-
The white dew settles
on her and has made her his wife,
this maidenflower;
oh, what trouble it would bring!
Let no one lay a hand on her.
- Meaning
- This maidenflower is the wife of the white dew that settles upon her. Oh, what trouble it would cause! Let no one touch her.
- Commentary
-
Book Three Autumn Poems 160
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Since the maidenflower is the wife of the white dew that rests upon it, touching it would cause trouble, and the poem warns people not to lay a hand on it. Likening the maidenflower to the wife of the white dew, it wittily seems to say: do not lay hands on another man's wife.
First line, "shiratsuyu no," is the white dew settled on the maidenflower. Taking up the dew of the preceding poem, it continues the conceit of the dew as the maidenflower's husband.
Second line, "oku tsuma ni suru," means "has settled on her and made her his wife," likening the white dew to a husband and the maidenflower to a wife.
Third line, "ominaeshi," is the maidenflower, the dew's wife. The poem pauses here.
Fourth line, "ana wazurawashi," means "oh, what trouble," with "ana" as an interjection. The poem pauses here.
Final line, "hito na te fure so," means "let no one touch her," with "na ... so" expressing prohibition. Whereas the preceding poem sang of the dew worrying over someone drawing near the maidenflower, this one takes the dew's side and warns people off, so the two poems stand as two sides of one coin.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
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Higurashi ni miredomo akanu ominaeshi nobe ni ya koyoi tabine shinamashi