思ひかね市の中には人多み
ゆかり尋ねてつくる玉章
ゆかり尋ねてつくる玉章
- Roma-ji
-
Omoikane ichi no naka ni wa hito ōmi yukari tazunete tsukuru tamazusa
- English Translation
-
Unable to bear it,
and in the midst of the market,
the crowd being so great,
I seek out someone I know
and entrust to him my letter.
- Meaning
- Unable to bear my longing, and since the market is so crowded, I seek out someone I know and entrust my love letter to him.
- Commentary
-
Love Poems 610
Headnote: "On the topic 'love letter entrusted to a merchant'"
The headnote tells us this was composed on the topic of entrusting a love letter to a merchant. Unable to bear his longing, the poet wants to deliver a letter, but the market is crowded and he would be seen, so he seeks out a connection and entrusts it to a trader. The pains of a love that must hide from others' eyes are set in the bustle of the marketplace.
First line, “omoikane”: unable to bear my longing.
Second line, “ichi no naka ni wa”: ichi is the marketplace, the setting of the merchant in the topic.
Third line, “hito ōmi”: mi is a suffix of cause: since there are so many people.
Fourth line, “yukari tazunete”: yukari is a connection, someone one knows: seeking out a go-between.
Fifth line, “tsukuru tamazusa”: tsuku is to entrust for delivery, and tamazusa is a letter; ending on a noun, this answers the letter of the topic.
- Author
- Saigyō
- Source
- Sankashu
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