よしさらば磯の苫屋に旅寝せん
波かけずとて濡れぬ袖かは
波かけずとて濡れぬ袖かは
- Roma-ji
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Yoshi saraba iso no tomaya ni tabine sen nami kakezu tote nurenu sode ka wa
- English Translation
-
Very well, then,
in a rush-thatched hut on the shore
I will spend the night:
are my sleeves ever left dry
just because no waves break on them?
- Meaning
- Very well, then, I will sleep in a rush-thatched hut by the shore; are my sleeves ever dry just because no waves wash over them? They are wet with tears all the same.
- Commentary
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Book Eight Travel Poems 532
Headnote: "Composed on the theme of a traveler's lodging"
Composed on the topic "a traveler's lodging." Very well, then, I will sleep in a rush-thatched hut on the shore; are my sleeves ever dry just because no waves break over them? the poet asks. Since his sleeves will be wet with the tears of travel wherever he sleeps, he might as well stay in a hut by the sea, and he sings as if resigning himself to the sorrow of the road.
The author, "Prince-Priest of Ninnaji (Shukaku)," is Prince Shukaku, second son of Emperor Go-Shirakawa, who became abbot of Ninnaji and was called the Kita-no-in Omuro. He loved poetry and associated with many poets.
First line, "yoshi saraba": "very well, then," a phrase of resolve.
Second line, "iso no tomaya ni": "in a rush-thatched hut on the shore." Poem 515 of this book also sings of sleeping in "iso no tomaya."
Third line, "tabine sen": the volitional "n," "I will sleep here on my journey." The poem pauses here.
Fourth line, "nami kakezu tote": "tote," "just because," "just because the waves do not wash over them." It reads as if taking up "nami mo kakekeri" in the preceding poem, 531.
Fifth line, "nurenu sode ka wa": the rhetorical "ka wa," "are they sleeves that stay dry? No, they are wet with tears."
- Author
- Cloistered Prince Shukaku
- Source
- Senzai Wakashu
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Aware naru Nojima ga saki no iori kana tsuyu oku sode ni nami mo kakekeri
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Tabi no yo ni mata tabine shite kusamakura yume no uchi ni mo yume o miru kana