川霧の立ちこめつれば高瀬舟
分け行く棹の音のみぞする
分け行く棹の音のみぞする
- Roma-ji
-
Kawagiri no tachikometsureba takasebune wakeyuku sao no oto nomi zo suru
- English Translation
-
Since the river mist
has risen and hidden all,
of the river boat
parting its way, of the pole
only the sound can be heard
- Meaning
- Since the river mist has closed in, only the sound of the pole of a river boat pushing its way through can be heard.
- Commentary
-
Book Eleven Variant Poems 681
Because the river mist has closed in completely, the boat cannot be seen, and only the sound of the pole of a river boat parting the mist comes through. Contrasting the mist that shuts off sight with the sound echoing within it, the poem captures a scene by an autumn river.
This poem is found only in a variant manuscript line of the anthology; in the variant order it is placed after 240 in Book Three. Poem 240 also tells of voices calling for a boat in an evening mist so thick that the shallows of the Uji River cannot be seen, sharing the conceit of hearing sounds on a river hidden by mist.
First line, 'kawagiri no', means the river mist. It echoes yūgiri ni in the third line of 240 in Book Three.
Second line, 'tachikometsureba', means since it has closed in, the realis of the perfective tsu with ba expressing a reason.
Third line, 'takasebune', means a shallow river boat. Poem 271 in Book Four also sings of the sound of a river boat's pole.
Fourth line, 'wakeyuku sao no', means of the pole pushing its way through.
Final line, 'oto nomi zo suru', means only the sound is heard, the particle zo answered by the attributive suru. It is the same as the final line of 253 in Book Three.
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
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