逢ふこともなごえにあさる葦鴨の
うき寝をなくと人は知らずや
うき寝をなくと人は知らずや
- Roma-ji
-
Au koto mo Nagoe ni asaru ashigamo no ukine o naku to hito wa shirazu ya
- English Translation
-
No hope of meeting—
like the reed duck that forages
in Nago's inlet,
floating sleepless, crying out,
do you not know how I weep
- Meaning
- With no chance of meeting, like the reed ducks foraging in the inlet of Nago, I sleep adrift in sorrow and cry; do you not know it?
- Commentary
-
Book Eight Love Poems II 454
With no chance of meeting, like the reed ducks that forage in the inlet of Nago and cry as they sleep afloat, the poet weeps through lonely nights; does the beloved not know? Overlaying the floating sleep of waterfowl on one who weeps through the night unable to meet the beloved, the poem strings together pivot words.
The author, Tadamichi, is Fujiwara no Tadamichi. A son of the Regent Fujiwara no Tadazane, he served in turn as Regent, Chancellor and Grand Minister, was known as the Hosshōji Lay Priest, and has a poem in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
First line, 'au koto mo', means meeting too, leading into na in the second line to mean there is no meeting.
Second line, 'Nagoe ni asaru', is a pivot word in which nagoe means both there is no meeting and Nagoe, the inlet of Nago, a famous place in Etchū, left in kana. Asaru means to search for food.
Third line, 'ashigamo no', means of the ducks living among the reeds by the water. The upper three lines lead into ukine in the fourth line.
Fourth line, 'ukine o naku to', is a pivot word in which uki means both floating on the water and sorrowful, and naku means both the duck's crying and my weeping, all left in kana.
Final line, 'hito wa shirazu ya', means does the beloved not know, closing with a question in the particle ya.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Tadamichi
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
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Matsu hito no ōzora wataru tsuki naraba nururu tamoto ni kage wa mitemashi
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Sa nomi ya wa waga mi no uki ni nashihatete hito no tsurasa o uramizarubeki