葦垣に隙なくかかる蜘蛛のいの
ものむつかしく繁る我が恋
ものむつかしく繁る我が恋
- Roma-ji
-
Ashigaki ni hima naku kakaru kumo no i no mono mutsukashiku shigeru waga koi
- English Translation
-
On the reed fence,
leaving not a gap, there hangs
the spider's web—
so tangled and so tiresome
grows this love of mine
- Meaning
- Like a spider's web hung over a reed fence leaving not a gap, this love of mine grows thick, tangled and oppressive.
- Commentary
-
Book Eight Love Poems II 446
Like a spider's web hung without a gap over a reed fence, the poet says, his love grows ever thicker and more oppressive. In a web that spreads across the fence and cannot be untangled, he overlays a love that is snarled and never clears.
Spiders also appear in poems 351 and 386 of Book Seven, and the conceit of overlaying love on the spider's thread recurs.
The author, Tsunenobu, is Minamoto no Tsunenobu. A son of Minamoto no Michikata, he rose to Major Counselor and was called the Katsura Major Counselor. He was the father of Minamoto no Toshiyori, compiler of this anthology, and one of his poems appears in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
First line, 'ashigaki ni', means on the fence woven of reeds. The upper three lines form a preface leading to mono mutsukashiku in the fourth line.
Second line, 'hima naku kakaru', means hanging with no gaps, overlaid with love that knows no pause.
Third line, 'kumo no i no', means of the spider's web, i being the spider's thread or web.
Fourth line, 'mono mutsukashiku', means somehow oppressive.
Final line, 'shigeru waga koi', means this love of mine that grows thick, closing on a noun.
- Author
- Minamoto no Tsunenobu
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
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