葦火焚くまやの住処は世の中を
あくがれ出づる門出なりけり
あくがれ出づる門出なりけり
- Roma-ji
-
Ashibi taku maya no sumika wa yo no naka o akugareizuru kadode narikeri
- English Translation
-
This dwelling of mine
where I burn reeds for my fire —
it has proved to be
the threshold from which my heart
wanders out beyond the world
- Meaning
- This humble dwelling where I burn reeds for fire has proved to be the very threshold from which my heart sets out, drifting away from the world.
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Miscellaneous Poems II 348
Living in a humble dwelling where reeds are burned for fire, the poet says, has been the threshold from which his heart drifts away from the world. Rather than lamenting poverty, he recasts it as the first step toward leaving the world, revealing a heart turning toward retreat.
This poem opens the second book of miscellaneous poems. Poem 411 of this book also uses "akugaruru," speaking of the frailty of a self that drifts away. Beginning with a threshold for leaving the world, the book closes, through the final poem of moonlight at dawn, 415, with poems that gaze on impermanence and the Buddhist way.
The first line, "ashibi taku," refers to burning reeds for fire, showing a humble life.
The second line, "maya no sumika wa," has "maya," a word read in various ways but taken to mean a dwelling, singled out with "wa."
The third line, "yo no naka o" (the world), refers to worldly life.
The fourth line, "akugareizuru," means the heart drifting out of the body, expressing departure from the world. Poem 411 of this book also uses "akugaruru."
The final line, "kadode narikeri," combines the copula "nari" and exclamatory "keri," ending with the realization that this was the threshold of departure.
- Author
- Minamoto no Toshiyori
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Naniwae no ashima ni yadoru tsuki mireba waga mi hitotsu mo shizumazarikeri
- Next Poem
-
Shizu no me ga egu tsumu sawa no usugōri itsu made fu beki waga mi naruramu