思ひかねそなたの空を眺むれば
ただ山の端にかかる白雲
ただ山の端にかかる白雲
- Roma-ji
-
Omoikane sonata no sora o nagamureba tada yama no ha ni kakaru shirakumo
- English Translation
-
Unable to bear it,
when I gaze out at the sky
where you are, I see
only clouds of white that hang
along the mountain's rim
- Meaning
- Unable to bear my longing, I gaze at the sky where you are, and see only white clouds hanging on the mountain ridge.
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Miscellaneous Poems II 381
Unable to bear his longing, the poet gazes toward the sky where the beloved is, but sees only white clouds hanging on the mountain ridge, with nothing to bring the other to mind. A heart longing for someone far away is entrusted to the scene of white clouds.
The next poem, 382, sings of white waves on the open sea that are mistaken for clouds, so that scenes gazed at from afar, white clouds on a mountain and white waves at sea, are set side by side.
The first line, "omoikane," means unable to bear one's feelings. Poem 395 of this book begins with the same line.
The second line, "sonata no sora o," refers to the sky in the direction where the other is.
The third line, "nagamureba," is a conditional of certainty: when I gaze.
The fourth line, "tada yama no ha ni," uses "tada": only on the ridge.
The final line, "kakaru shirakumo," ends with a noun, presenting white clouds hanging on the ridge.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Tadamichi
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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Ko no moto ni kakiatsumetsuru koto no ha o Hahaso no mori no katami to wa miyo
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Wata no hara kogiidete mireba hisakata no kumoi ni magau okitsu shiranami