逢坂の関屋もいづら山城の
音羽の滝の音に聞きつつ
音羽の滝の音に聞きつつ
- Roma-ji
-
Ōsaka no sekiya mo izura Yamashiro no Otowa no taki no oto ni kikitsutsu
- English Translation
-
Ōsaka's barrier house—
where can it be? Like the sound
of Otowa Falls
in the province of Yamashiro,
I know you by report alone.
- Meaning
- Where is the barrier house at Ōsaka, the Slope of Meeting? Like the sound of Otowa Falls in Yamashiro, I hear of you only by report.
- Commentary
-
Love Poems 460
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on the theme of love at famous places"
Asking where the barrier house at Ōsaka, whose name means meeting, might be, the poet says that with no chance to meet he only hears of his beloved, as one hears the sound of Otowa Falls.
According to the notes in the base text, the Ruijū and Teika texts read line 3 as Yamashina no. Here the base text is followed.
Line 1 names the Ōsaka barrier between Ōmi and Yamashiro, echoing au, "to meet."
Line 2 means "where is the barrier house?"—no way to meet; the poem pauses here.
Line 3 means "of Yamashiro."
Line 4 means "of Otowa Falls," leading to "sound."
Line 5 means "hearing by report," like "since I heard its voice" in 458, a love that only hears and never meets.
- Author
- Minamoto no Sanetomo
- Source
- Kinkaishu
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