都いでゝ君に逢はむとこしものを
こしかひもなく別れぬるかな
こしかひもなく別れぬるかな
- Roma-ji
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Miyako idete kimi ni awamu to koshi mono o koshi kai mo naku wakarenuru kana
- English Translation
-
From the capital
I came, hoping to meet you—
and yet, having come,
there was no worth in coming:
we are parting now, alas
- Meaning
- I left the capital and came all this way hoping to meet you, yet the journey seems to have been for nothing, for now we must already part.
- Commentary
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6 The Twenty-Sixth Day of the Twelfth Month: A Farewell Banquet at the New Governor's Residence
Having left the governor's residence on the twenty-first day of the twelfth month, the party was invited to farewell feasts almost every day. On the twenty-fifth, a letter arrived from the residence of the new governor summoning them, and they spent the whole day and night in merrymaking. On the twenty-sixth they were still being entertained there, and gifts were handed out even to the attendants. Chinese verses were chanted aloud, and host, guests and others alike exchanged Japanese poems.
The "governor who is host" is the man newly appointed as Governor of Tosa and the master of this residence. The "former governor" is the outgoing Governor of Tosa returning to the capital, said to be the author Ki no Tsurayuki himself. Tsurayuki was appointed Governor of Tosa in 930 and set out for the capital at the end of 934, his term complete.
This poem was addressed by the new governor, the host of the residence, to the departing former governor in regret at their parting.
In reply, the former governor composed "Shirotae no namiji o tōku yukikaite ware ni nibeki wa tare naranaku ni." Others composed poems as well, but none were of particular note. Afterward, the new and former governors stepped down into the garden together, clasped hands, and parted in high spirits, trading the cheerful words of men in their cups.
The first line, "Miyako idete," carries an extra syllable and tells of setting out from the capital and coming down to Tosa. In the second line, "kimi" refers to the former governor, and the auxiliary "mu" expresses intention: thinking to meet you. In the third line, "koshi mono o," "ko" is the continuative form of the verb "ku" (to come), "shi" is the attributive form of the past auxiliary "ki," and "mono o" is a concessive particle meaning "and yet."
The fourth line repeats "koshi" from the third, lamenting that the coming has been to no avail. In the final line, "wakarenuru kana," "nuru" is the attributive form of the perfective auxiliary "nu," and "kana" is an exclamatory particle.
Through the repetition of "koshi," the poem lays bare the disappointment of having come so far only to part at once. It is a frank poem well suited to a farewell, in which a newly arrived official mourns parting so soon from his predecessor.
- Author
- Ki no Tsurayuki
- Source
- Tosa Nikki
- Next Poem
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Shirotae no namiji o tōku yukikaite ware ni nibeki wa tare naranaku ni