和歌の浦と言ふにて知りぬ風吹かば
波の立ちこと思ふなるべし
波の立ちこと思ふなるべし
- Roma-ji
-
Waka no ura to iu nite shirinu kaze fukaba nami no tachiko to omou naru beshi
- English Translation
-
Since you call it
Waka Bay, I understand —
should the wind blow here,
"waves, come rising up!" is what
you must be thinking, I believe
- Meaning
- Since you call it Waka Bay, I understand: you must be thinking that when the wind blows, the waves should come rising in.
- Commentary
-
Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems I 284
Taking up the preceding poem's claim that the place should be called Waka Bay, the poet answers that one who calls it so must be thinking that when the wind blows, waves should come rising in. Bringing in waves through their association with Waka Bay, the reply seems to liken poems composed one after another to rising waves.
It is set beside the preceding poem, 283, as an exchange.
The first line, "Waka no ura to," begins by repeating the fourth line of the preceding poem.
The second line, "iu nite shirinu," uses the perfective "nu": I understand from your saying so, with a break after the second line.
The third line, "kaze fukaba," is a hypothetical with the irrealis and "ba": if the wind blows.
The fourth line, "nami no tachiko to," means "waves, come rising," bringing in waves through the association with Waka Bay.
The final line, "omou naru beshi," combines the copula "nari" and conjectural "beshi," surmising that this is what is thought.
- Author
- Minamoto no Nakamasa
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Mimasaka ya Kume no Sarayama to omoedomo Waka no ura to zo iu bekarikeru
- Next Poem
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Kumoi yori tsuranukikakuru shiratama o tare Nunobiki no taki to iikemu