東路のはるけき道を行きめぐり
いつかとくべき下紐の関
いつかとくべき下紐の関
- Roma-ji
-
Azumaji no harukeki michi o yukimeguri itsuka tokubeki shitahimo no seki
- English Translation
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On the eastern road,
wandering its distant paths,
when will I at last
loosen what was tied for me,
at the Barrier of Shitahimo?
- Meaning
- Wandering the far roads of the East, when will I at last pass the Barrier of Shitahimo and untie the under-sash we knotted when we parted?
- Commentary
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Book Six Parting Poems 184
A poem by one setting out on a long journey to the eastern provinces, thinking of the day of reunion. The name of Shitahimo Barrier, a poetic place in Michinoku, is overlaid with the under-sash knotted at parting, asking when it may be untied in meeting the beloved again, and expressing both the loneliness of the distant road and the longing to reunite.
In old times lovers are said to have tied each other's under-sashes at parting and left them untied until they met again, and that feeling is entrusted to the place name.
First line, "azumaji no" (on the eastern road), means the road to the East. Like "michinoku no" in 173, it tells of the distance of a journey down to the eastern lands.
Second line, "harukeki michi o": "harukeshi" means far, stressing the length of the way.
Third line, "yukimeguri," means going round from place to place, conveying long days on the road.
Fourth line, "itsuka tokubeki": "toku" is to untie the under-sash, echoing the sense of passing the barrier and ending the journey. "Beki" expresses possibility and modifies the final line.
Final line, "shitahimo no seki," is said to be a poetic place in Mutsu. It contains "shitahimo" (under-sash), associated with "toku" in the fourth line, and ends on a noun, entrusting the hope of reunion to the name of a distant barrier.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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