山科の木幡の里に馬はあれど
徒歩よりぞ来る君を思へば
徒歩よりぞ来る君を思へば
- Roma-ji
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Yamashina no Kohata no sato ni uma wa aredo kachi yori zo kuru kimi o omoeba
- English Translation
-
In Yamashina,
at the village of Kohata,
horses there may be,
yet on foot I've come to you,
for of you I always think.
- Meaning
- There are horses in the village of Kohata in Yamashina, yet I have come on foot, because I think of you.
- Commentary
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Book Nineteen Miscellaneous Love Poems 1243
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet says that though there are horses in the village of Kohata in Yamashina, he has come on foot because he thinks of his beloved. By saying he came on his own feet when he could have come quickly on horseback, he conveys a devotion so eager that he would not wait even for a horse to be made ready.
The author, written as "Hitomaro," is Kakinomoto no Hitomaro. A court poet who served in the reigns of Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu, he is revered as the Saint of Poetry. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
A similar poem appears in Book Eleven of the Man'yōshū, with the second line "Kohata no yama o" and a different lower verse.
First line, "Yamashina no," means "of Yamashina" in Yamashiro.
Second line, "Kohata no sato ni," means "in the village of Kohata" in Yamashina, on the road from the capital to Uji.
Third line, "uma wa aredo," means "though there are horses," with "do" a concessive particle.
Fourth line, "kachi yori zo kuru," means "I have come on foot," with "yori" marking the means and the binding particle "zo" resolved by the attributive "kuru." The poem breaks after this fourth line, and the final line gives the reason in inverted order.
Final line, "kimi o omoeba," means "because I think of you," with "ba" after the perfective form expressing cause.
- Author
- Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
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Omoiyaru Koshi no Shirayama shiranedomo hitoyo mo yume ni koenu hi zo naki
- Next Poem
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Kasugayama kumoi kakurete tōkeredo ie wa omowazu kimi o koso omoe