玉川にさらす手作りさらさらに
昔の人の恋しきやなぞ
昔の人の恋しきやなぞ
- Roma-ji
-
Tamagawa ni sarasu tezukuri sarasara ni mukashi no hito no koishiki ya nazo
- English Translation
-
Like the handwoven cloth
bleached white in the Tama River,
fresh and new again,
why is it that the one of old
is dear to me once more?
- Meaning
- Like the handwoven cloth rinsed in the Tama River, all over again—why is it that I long now for the one I loved long ago?
- Commentary
-
Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 860
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
From the sound of "sarasu," bleaching the handwoven cloth in the Tama River, the poem draws out "sarasara ni," all over again, and asks itself why the lover of long ago should now be so dear once more. It sings of the bewilderment of feelings reviving for someone one thought forgotten.
Among the eastern songs of Book Fourteen of the Man'yōshū is a poem with the same upper verse and the lower verse "nanizo kono ko no kokoda kanashiki." It is a well-known eastern song depicting cloth being bleached in the Tama River in Musashi.
First line, "Tamagawa ni," means "in the Tama River," which flows through Musashi Province.
Second line, "sarasu tezukuri," means "the handwoven cloth bleached in the water." The first two lines form a preface leading by sound to "sarasara ni."
Third line, "sarasara ni," means "all over again, now of all times." It repeats the sound of "sarasu" and also lets the murmur of the river be heard.
Fourth line, "mukashi no hito no," means "the one of long ago." It shares the heart that looks back to the past with the final line of 854 in this book, "mukashi omoeba."
Final line, "koishiki ya nazo," means "why is it I long for," with "nazo" asking a reason. It shares the ending "ya nazo" with the final line of 865 in this book, "kaketaru ya nazo."
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
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