老いてのち昔を偲ぶ涙こそ
ここら人目を忍ばざりけれ
ここら人目を忍ばざりけれ
- Roma-ji
-
Oite nochi mukashi o shinobu namida koso kokora hitome o shinobazarikere
- English Translation
-
Once I have grown old,
the tears I shed for the past
as I call it back
no longer, among the many eyes,
hide themselves from being seen
- Meaning
- Now that I am old, the tears I shed in remembering the past no longer hide themselves from all the watching eyes.
- Commentary
-
Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems I 344
Tears shed in old age while recalling the past, the poet says, fall without regard for others' eyes. Repeating the like-sounding "shinobu" (to recall fondly) and "shinobu" (to hide), the poem conveys both the depth of yearning for the past and tears of age that cannot be held back.
The first line, "oite nochi" (after growing old), sets the time.
The second line, "mukashi o shinobu," refers to recalling the past with fondness.
The third line, "namida koso" (the tears), singles out these tears with "koso."
The fourth line, "kokora hitome o" (many watching eyes), refers to many onlookers.
The final line, "shinobazarikere," adds the negative "zu" and the perfective of the exclamatory "keri" to "shinobu" (to hide from others), closing "koso" in a kakari-musubi: they do not hide. It repeats the same sound as "shinobu" in the second line with a different meaning.
- Author
- Kiyohara no Motosuke
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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