Gosenshu 9
後撰和歌集 巻第九 恋一
The GSS has six love volumes in comparison to the KKS' five. The KKS' love volumes focused primarily on abstract poems, without prose prefaces, that used various images to express feelings associated with love. The GSS focuses on poems sent to lovers in actual situations, and features a large number of exchanges. The KKS also arranged the poems to follow the sequence of a love affair; from the initial feelings to the end of the relationship. The GSS' organization is less clear, but seems to involve grouping poems with similar imagery together.
507
からうじて逢ひしりて侍りける人に、慎むことありて、逢ひがたく侍りければ
There was a person who he met after great effort, and there was something to be cautious about, then it became hard to meet.
源宗于朝臣
あづま地の さやの中山 中々に あひ見てのちぞ わびしかりける
adumadi no On the eastern road saya no nakayama Saya no Nakayama nakanaka ni So casually we met ahi-mite noti zo But it's only after that wabisi-kari-keru That I suffer all the more.
- Something to be cautious about
- This is a common theme in love poetry and love tales; it simply means that there was some reason why their relationship was not acceptable or why they couldn't be open about it.
- Saya no Nakayama
- This place name is used primarily as a preface for the third line, nakanaka ni (casually). However, the idea of this mountain crossing also links to the "great effort" of the preface.
--
The idea behind the poem is that he was suffering from love before they met, and he thought that after they met his suffering would end. But their meeting, though seemingly casual and noncommittal, has now caused an even greater agony for him. Kifune thinks that the compilers wanted to draw the readers in to the love volume by ending the Winter volume with "we haven't met yet", then immediately saying that "after great effort, they met" and then "it was difficult to meet"; showing this sudden transition between the phases of love.
The first part of this poem seems to be taken from KKS 594:
- あづまぢのさやの中山なかなかになにしか人を思ひそめけむ
- On the eastern road, Saya no Nakayama, why did I start casually loving her?
The Kansho praises the softness of the poem and the effectiveness of the pain in the final line.
508
忍びたりける人に物語し侍りけるを、人の騒がしく侍りければ、まかり帰りて、つかはしける
He was chatting with a person he was seeing secretly, but people were making a ruckus, so he returned home and sent this.
つらゆき
暁と何かいひけむわかるれば宵もいとこそわびしかりけれ
akatuki to The dawn, the dawn, nani ka ihi-kemu Why do they talk about it so? wakarure-ba When we have parted yohi mo ito koso It is the bitter evening wabisikari-kere That is the source of my suffering.
--
The situation here seems to be that Tsurayuki had visited a women secretly, but he was fearful of being discovered because of gentlewomen in the next room. So he goes home and sends this poem. The first line is perhaps on Tadamine's KKS 625:
- 有明のつれなく見えし別れより暁ばかりうき物はなし
- Nothing is as sorrowful as the ruthless dawn, moon still in the sky, after you've parted from your love.
However, the dawn parting is a common image in love poetry so the reference may not be this direct.
509
源の巨城が通いひ侍りけるを、後々はまからずなり侍りにければ、となりの壁の穴より巨城をはつかに見てつかはしける
Minamoto no Ooki was visiting her, but after a while he no longer visited, and she saw him faintly in the next room through a hole in the wall, and sent this.
するが
まどろまぬ かべにも人を 見つるかな まさしからなん 春の夜の夢
madoroma-nu Unable to sleep kabe ni mo hito wo On the wall, too, that person mi-turu kana I think I saw there! masasikara-nan If only it could be real haru no yo no yume The dream of a night of spring.
--
The idea of seeing one's lover in a dream is common in Heian poetry, but the role of the wall is less clear here. Of course it comes from the situation in the preface, but what poetic element does it have? The mo (also) means that Suruga is seeing Ooki not only in her dreams, but on the wall as well. One possibility, appearing first in the Seigi, is that seeing dreams on walls when awake is an old trope from Chinese writings. Kudo mentions a Chinese story where a man sees his deceased wife on a wall but then the image disappears. GSS 1399 involves similar language but the situation there is that a man sees something that his deceased wife had written on the wall.
Another possibility raised by Kigin is that this is simply a wordplay; since walls are painted (nuru), that creates a play on words with nuru "sleep". In this case Kifune may be right that this is a comic Haikai poem. He also reads the entire situation as a humorous one; it was common for higher ranking men to have casual relationships with gentlewomen like Suruga. Therefore this poem may not be actually a bitter accusation of cheating but simply a humorous greeting.
510
逢ひ知りて侍りける人のもとに、「返事見む」とてつかはしける
To a woman he knew, he sent this, thinking "Let's see her response."
元良のみこ
くやくやと まつゆふぐれと 今はとて かへる朝と いづれまされり
kuyakuya to The evening when matu yuhugure to I wait, thinking "she's coming!" ima ha to te Or the morning when kaheru asita to I return thinking "It's time!" idure masare-ri Which is more sorrowful?
- It's time!
- This often means that the affair has ended, but here it may just mean that morning has come and he has to leave.
--
This kind of comparison poem was a fad at the time. Motoyoshi was known as a playboy, and although this seems more like a public poem, in the context here he is playfully inviting her to respond which one is more sorrowful.
511
返し
Response
藤原かつみ
Fujiwara no Katsumi
ゆふぐれは 松にもかかる 白露の おくる朝や きえははつらむ
yuhugure ha In the evening matu ni mo kakaru Waiting on the pine trees siratuyu no The white beads of dew okuru asita ya In the coming morning kie ha hatu-ramu They will surely vanish.
- Waiting
- matu as usual puns on "pine" and "wait".
--
The basic meaning of Katsumi's response is that waiting in the evening for his arrival is bad enough, but she knows he will come. It's the morning parting makes her feel like she will die, vanishing before even the dew does. Kifune and the Hyoshaku both praise the skilled construction showing her love.
512
大和に逢ひしりて侍りける人のもとにつかはしける
He sent this to a woman he had met in Yamato.
よみ人しらず
Poet unknown
うち返し 君ぞこひしき やまとなる ふるのわさ田の 思ひいでつつ
uti-kahesi Over and over kimi zo kohisiki You are the one that I love. yamato naru Out in Yamato huru no wasada no The old field with early blooms omohi-ide-tutu As they come forth I send my thoughts.
- Over and over
- The verb uti-kahesu also refers to plowing a field, which connects to the third and fourth lines.
- As they come forth I send my thoughts
- hi-idu can also be a verb meaning for stalks of a plant to grow forth.
--
This poem has a preface in the 3rd and 4th lines and also words related to seeds and farming, which connects to the Yamato province where the woman is. Nakayama thinks this relationship is resuming after a long pause, whereas Kifune thinks they have known each other for a long time but only now is their relationship developing.
513
返し
Response
秋の田の いねてふ事を かけしかば 思ひいづるが うれしげもなし
aki no ta no In the autumn fields ine tehu koto wo Rice stalks, you told me to leave, kake-sika-ba That lay on my heart omohi-iduru ga So when you remember me uresi-ge mo nasi You won't see me grow happy.
--
The response poem uses the same imagery as the initial poem, but exactly what the second line means is difficult to say. Most commenters agree that this is a play on ine meaning "Go!" (and ine rice stalks). So either this refers to a specific time when the man told her to go away, or she is just expressing the feeling of being abandoned. Kifune rejects this and sees a hidden play on karu (mow grass/leave) but this seems hard to sustain when the word isn't actually in the poem. Nakayama suggests that the woman had to move to Yamato for some reason and he told her to go despite their love.
This exchange may fit with Sato Komei's idea that some of these poems or exchanges may have been included to pique the interest of the readers and encourage them to imagine their own contexts or settings.
514
女につかはしける
Sent to a woman
人こふる 心ばかりは それながら 我はわれにも あらぬなりけり
hito kohuru Longing for you kokoro bakari ha It is only my heart sore nagara That remains here ware ha ware ni mo Myself, as the self I know, ara-nu nari-keri Is no longer existant.
--
The idea is that he is so obsessed with love for this woman that he has ceased to exist except for his heart, which remains.
A similar poem by Minamoto no Shitago (one of the GSS compilers) appears as Shoku goshui shu 745:
- 誰がために君を恋ふらむ恋佗びて我はわれにもあらず成行く
- For whose sake am I longing for you? Love's sorrow means that myself, as the self I know, is disappearing.
515
まかる所知らせず侍りけるころ、又逢ひしりて侍りける男のもとより、「日頃たづねわびて失せにたるとなむ思ひつる」といへりければ
When she had left without saying where she was going, she got this from a different man she had been seeing: "I've been visiting you regularly but I think you've gone away."
伊勢
Ise
おもひ河 たえずながるる 水のあわの うたがた人に あはできえめや
omohikawa The river of thought taezu nagaruru Flows on and on without cease midu no awa no The foam on the water utagata hito ni Float on the surface, and how aha-de kie-me ya Would I die without us meeting?
- gone away
- The word usu has multiple meanings. The man probably intended it to mean that Ise had left, but Ise in her poem interprets it as "dead". It's also possible she is saying that man will not die before they meet.
- River of thought
- Although older commentaries identified this as a specific river in Chikuzen, it may simply be a symbolic "river" to set up the wordplays in the remainder of the poem. nagaruru (flow) plays on nakaruru (cry), and utagata refers to the bubbles on the surface but also is a different word that pairs with a negative to mean "absolutely will not."
--
This poem appears in many pre-modern collections of good poetry, and is assigned in several pseudo-Teika works to the yugen category (mysterious depths). The purpose of the poem is to reassure the man that she still loves him.
516
題しらず
Topic unknown
三統公忠
Mimune no Kintada
思ひやる 心はつねに かよへども 相坂の関 こえずもあるかな
omohi-yaru Sent out on my thoughts kokoro ha tune ni My heart is always able kayohe-domo To pass through it, but ahusaka no seki The gate of the Meeting Slope koe-zu mo aru kana It seems that I can't get through.
- Meeting Slope
- ahusaka no seki, a barrier gate near Kyoto, was often used as an image for lovers not able to meet, due to the ahu (meet) word.
--
This seems to be a poem, perhaps a public-style one, on a woman that the poet has not met. Kifune notes the personification of the heart in the first part contrasted with the physical distance in the second. Kifune also suggests reading 512-516 as a single sequence.
517
女につかはしける
Sent to a woman
よみ人しらず
Poet unknown
きえはてて やみぬばかりか 年をへて 君を思ひの しるしなければ
kie-hate-te Did it extinguish yami-nu bakari ka And stop as I may soon die? tosi wo he-te With the passing years kimi wo omohi no The flame of your thoughts for me sirusi nakere-ba I cannot see any more.
- Extinguish
- kiyu is used here to mean "extinguish (flame)" or "die". There is then later a play on the hi (fire) of omohi.
- ka
- Commentators are equally divided on whether this is a question or an emphatic particle; in the latter case it would be "Your flame extinguished..."
--
The wordplay and association with the fire indicates that just as the woman's thoughts for the man have gone away, he too will die out of his love for her.
518
返し
Response
おもひだに しるしなしてふ わが身にぞ あはぬなげ木の かずはもえける
omohi da ni "Not even the fire sirusi nasi tehu of my thoughts shows," so you say, waga mi ni zo It is in my self aha-nu nageki no The firewood of regret kazu ha moe-keru That we can't meet burns greatly.
- firewood of regret
- nageki is both lament/regret, and "discarded wood" (i.e. firewood).
--
The response picks up the flame imagery of the first poem, saying that the man(?) cannot see her love for him because it's burning inside of her.
519
題しらず
Topic unknown
ほしがてに ぬれぬべきかな 唐衣 かわくたもとの 世々になければ
hosi-gate ni Difficult to dry nure-nu beki kana They must always be drenched through. karakoromo On my Chinese robes kawaku tamoto no The sleeves will never dry out yoyo ni nakere-ba Though years of long nights pass by.
- yoyo
- This could have three meanings: 世々 (through many ages), 夜々 (many nights), or an onomatopoeia for crying. Commentators differ on which of these meanings applies here. Kigin, Nakayama and Katagiri take it as "through many ages," while Kudo and Kifune say "nights." Katagiri is the only one of them to wonder about the "sound of crying" meaning, wondering if it is appropriate for poetry. The evidence of yoyo used in poetry for a crying sound is slight, but it does occur in some private poetry collections.
--
The expression of the poem is simple and direct, but as the note above indicates it's difficult to tell what kind of wordplay might be involved in the poem.
520
世とともに あぶくま河の とほければ そこなる影を 見ぬぞわびしき
yo to tomo ni As long as the world lasts abukumagaha no The Abukuma River tohokere-ba Is very far, soko naru kage wo So your image in the deeps mi-nu zo wabisiki Not seeing it, I suffer.
- Abukuma River
- A river in Michinoku. It serves as a play on ahu kuma (a place or time to meet).
- Image in the deeps
- The soko can also mean "you" (here).
--
This seems to be a poem on a secret love affair. Just as the poet cannot see the reflection in the Abukuma River which is so far away, he also cannot see the lover's face because their time of meeting is so far away. Katagiri focuses on the word soko which seems to indicate someone who is close by him. He paints the picture of two people who have met in the palace. Though they are physically close to each other, they cannot easily meet. Nakayama and Kudo also note the contradiction between the "far" of the third line and the closeness of the soko in the fourth.
521
わがごとく あひ思ふ人の なき時は 深き心も かひなかりけり
waga gotoku When there is no one ahi-omohu hito no To return my thoughts of love naki toki ha In the way I feel, hukaki kokoro mo Then the depth of my own heart kahi nakari-keri Has no worth for me at all.
--
This is similar to Mitsune's poem KKS 750:
- わがごとく我をおもはむ人もがなさてもや憂きと世を心見む
- I wish there were someone to love me as I do. I want to see if a real experience would make me suffer.
However, the GSS poem may be targeted at the individual rather than being a simple declaration of love. Kifune tried to see wordplays in the poem based around kahi as shellfish, but he is the only commenter who mentions this.
522
いつしかと わが松山に 今はとて こゆなる浪に ぬるる袖かな
itu sika to When, oh when, I think, waga matuyama ni Waiting at Matsuyama, ima ha to te And now at the end koyu naru nami ni The waves I hear crash over nururu sode kana Drench my sleeves through with tears.
- Waiting at Matsuyama
- matu creates a pivot based on "wait", and "pine mountain" (matuyama).
--
The imagery of this poem is based on KKS 1093:
- きみをおきてあだし心をわが持たば末の松山浪もこえなん
- If I abandon you and turn my heart to another, may the waves crash even over Matsuyama in Sue.
The mountain here, besides playing on matu (see note above), is used as an image of something that would be impossible for waves to reach. Moving from that imagery, this poem indicates that she waited expectantly but now she hears that he has turned his heart to another (i.e. hears the waves crash over) and those waves become the tears that drench her sleeves.
523
女のもとにつかはしける
Sent to a woman
ひとことは まことなりけり したひもの とけぬにしるき 心と思へば
hitokoto ha What they always say makoto nari-keri Seems indeed to be true. sitahimo no The cord of my trousers toke-nu ni siruki Not having loosened, I think kokoro to omohe-ba Of your heart, now clearly shown.
- Cord of my trousers
- A proverb at the time (see in the MYS and KKS) was that your trouser cord would loosen if your lover was thinking of you.
--
This poem is based on the proverb mentioned above; as Kifune notes, it inverts the proverb so that the unloosed cord shows the cold heart of the woman.
524
結びおきし わがしたひもの 今までに とけぬは人の こひぬなりけり
musubi-oki-si You tied it, back then, waga sitahimo no The cord of my trousers, ima made ni And up to the present toke-nu ha hito no It has not loosened, I see kohi-nu nari-keri It's because you don't love me.
--
This has the same feeling and imagery as the previous poem. Nakayama thought the two might have been composed by the same person in the same context, although recommended that they be read with the order flipped.
525
女の、人のもとにつかはしける
A woman sent this to a man
ほかのせは ふかくなるらし あすか河 昨日のふちぞ わが身なりける
hoka no se ha A different shallows hukaku-naru-rasi Has now grown deeper, it seems. asukagaha At Asuka River kinohu no huti zo "Yesterday's pools" that they mention waga mi nari-keru Seem to be my own body.
--
This poem's meaning relies on KKS 933:
- 世の中はなにか常なるあすか河きのふの淵ぞけふは瀬になる
- What in this world is permanent? At Asuka River, yesterday's pools are today's shallows.
In the poem, the woman makes herself the "pool" and another woman the "shallows" -- but now that the man's attention has turned to the other woman, their positions have switched. Kifune points out that the first two lines are actually the reverse of the original poem.
526
返し
Response
ふちせとも いざやしら浪 立ちさわぐ わが身ひとつは よる方もなし
huti se to mo Shallows and deep pools, iza ya siranami What do I know? The white waves tati-sawagu Rise and loudly crash waga mi hitotu ha And my own self, alone, yoru kata mo nasi Has nowhere to seek safe harbor.
- White waves
- siranami also means "I do not know, and so..."
--
The man's response turns back the complaint on the woman, which is a typical method of repartee in this sort of love poetry. Picking up on the allusion to the KKS poem, the man suggests that he has no idea what she's talking about, but that with her loud complaining he has nowhere to go. Kifune also thinks that there is a possible allusion to KKS 747 in this phrase, in which case it would suggest "my heart is the same as it's always been," showing his love for her.
527
題しらず
Circumstance unknown
ひかりまつ つゆに心を をける身は きえかへりつつ 世をぞうらむる
hikaru matu Waiting for the light tuyu ni kokoro wo My spirit, like the dew that wokeru mi ha Lies on my body kie-kaheri tutu Soon completely disappears yo wo zo uramuru As I hate the world of love.
--
The author (presumably a woman) is waiting for a man to visit her in the night. But like the dew which awaits the dawn and then vanishes, so too will her spirit vanish at the rising of the sun if he still has not come. The word yo here, literally "world", takes its typical love poem meaning of the relations between men and women.
Older commentaries had different interpretations -- Kigin thought the "light" motif was related to the high rank of the man. Nakayama thought the light was moonlight, and that the dew waiting to be reflected in the moonlight was like the author waiting for the night visit. It's not clear why Nakayama thought this was the correct reading; KKS 564 contains similar imagery to this one.
Kifune suggests reading 523-527 as a series of exchanges.
528
ある所に、近江といひける人のもとにつかはしける
He sent this to a person named Omi living in a certain place.
しほみたぬ うみときけばや 世とともに 見るめなくして 年のへぬらん
shio mita-nu The tide does not come umi to kike-ba ya In that sea, or so I hear. yo to tomo ni Is that why, forever, mirume naku si-te We have no chance to meet tosi no he-nu-ran As the years seem to pass by?
- chance to meet
- mirume plays on "seaweed" and "chance for meeting". Because the "sea" in Omi has no tide, there is also no seaweed.
--
The man here plays on the woman's serving name "Omi" (perhaps her place of birth, or where a relative lives). Omi was an inland province, best known for the large Lake Biwa. So it has no ocean, and thus no tides and no ocean seaweed. This provides the basis for the wordplay.
Kokin waka rokujo 2761, by Tsurayuki, is similar:
- ちかけれどあふみのうみぞかかりてふみるめもおひぬ中やなになる
- Although we are close, the lack of seaweed in what they call Omi's "lake" has become a barrier between us.
529
敦慶の親王、まうで来たりけれど、逢はずしてかへして、又のあしたにつかはしける
Prince Atsuyoshi came to visit, but he was sent home without them meeting, and the next morning she sent this.
桂のみこ
Princess Katsura
唐衣 きて帰りにし さよすがら あはれと思ふを うらむらんはた
karakoromo I wore my robes kite kaheri-ni-si You came and then returned home sayo-sugara All through the long night ahare to omohu wo I have longed for you, but uramu-ran hata You probably resent me.
- karakoromo
- This is a pillow word for kite ("come" and also "wear").
- hata
- The role of this final particle is not clear, but perhaps should be interpreted as "maybe".
--
Atsuyoshi and Katsura were half-siblings but had a romantic relationship, as shown in the Tales of Yamato. The prose preface does not make the situation entirely clear, but the poem would suggest that someone other than Katsura turned Atsuyoshi away and she is trying to reassure him. Kigin has a moral objection to the relationship, and Nakayama says the poem's style is bad although he doesn't elaborate on why. There seem to be some hidden engo with clothing -- kaheri (turning the clothing inside out), ura (back of the clothing), and the final hata which can just mean clothing.
530
逢ひ待ちける人の久しう消息なかりければ、つかはしける
Someone she had met and then was waiting for had not sent a letter for a long time, and so she sent this.
きのめのと
Ki no Menoto
影だにも 見えずなりゆく 山の井は あさきより又 水やたえにし
kage da ni mo I can no longer see mie-zu nari-yuku Even a reflection yama no wi ha In the mountain well asaki yori mata It is now beyond shallow midu ya tae-ni-si The water fully dried up.
- Ki no Menoto
- Teika's note identifies this as Emperor Yozei's wet nurse, perhaps based on the KKS. But Yozei was born in 868 and Taira no Sadafun probably several decades after that, so this may not be the same person.
- nari-yuku
- Most manuscripts read nari-nuru here, which seems to fit better with the last line. Kifune emends the text and Katagiri seems to translate it as if it were nuru. It is possible to accept the base text's reading, though: she is saying that going forward, she will continue to be unable to see the reflection because the water has dried up.
--
The imagery compares the shallow well with Sadafun's shallow heart -- not only shallow, but completely dried up. The "mountain well" is used because such wells were often dirty or easily dried up. There are two possible source poems for this. The first is Kokin Waka Rokujo 985, a variant of MYS 10.3829 that is also mentioned in the ``Kana preface to the KKS:
- あさかやまかげさへみゆる山の井のあさくは人をおもふものかは
- The shallowness of the mountain well at Asaka Mountain, even there the reflection can be seen -- is it due to the way he thinks?
And KKS 764:
- 山の井のあさき心もおもはぬを影ばかりのみ人の見ゆらん
- I didn't think his heart was as shallow as the mountain well, but why do I only see his shade?
531
返し
Response
平定文
Taira no Sadafun
浅してふ 事をゆゆしみ 山の井は ほりし濁りに 影は見えぬぞ
asasi tehu You say it's shallow koto wo yuyusimi But that's not the problem yama no wi ha With the mountain well hori-si nigori ni When I dug it, it was muddy kage ha mie-nu zo That's why there's no reflection.
--
Sadafun's response deflects the complaint; he has deep feelings for her, and that deepness is what caused the muddy water, not a shallow heart. Another exchange between these two is in the next book, 647-648.
532
題しらず
Circumstance unknown
よみ人も
Also the poet
いくたびか いくたの浦に 立ち帰り 浪にわが身を 打ぬらすらん
iku tabi ka Over and over ikuta no ura ni To Ikuta Bay I have come tati-kaeri And then gone back home nami ni waga mi wo The waves crashing over me uti-nura-su-ran Seem to have drenched thoroughly.
- ikuta no ura
- Ikuta Bay is in Settsu province; here it follows on iku tabi (how many times). This leads into tati-kaeri which refers to the coming and going of the waves, but also the man visiting her house again and again.
--
This is a metaphorical poem; the man visits the woman's house over and over again but she refuses to accept him, and he has to return, sleeves drenches with the "waves" of tears.
533
返し
Response
立ち帰り ぬれてはひぬる しほなれば いくたの浦の さがとこそ見れ
tati-kaeri Coming and going nure-te ha hinuru It is the tide where in time siho nare-ba The dampness will dry ikuta no ura no That is simply natural saga to koso mire When you visit Ikuta Bay.
--
The response picks up on the imagery of the original, although rather than using Ikuta Bay for wordplay, she uses the visual image of the tide. The surface meaning is simple -- going to Ikuta Bay you should expect to get wet, but it will dry eventually, so don't worry. The metaphorical meaning is that they haven't even met, so his feelings can't be sincere. It's the nature of such casual visits that whatever "tears" he is shedding will quickly dry as he finds some other woman to visit.
534
女のもとに
逢ふ事は いとど雲井の おほぞらに たつ名のみして やみぬばかりか
ahu koto ha Will our meetings grow itodo kumowi no Even more like the far away ohozora ni Clouds in the great sky tatu na nomi si-te With only the rumors there yami-nu bakari ka Rising up to stop us?
- tatu
- This refers to both the rising clouds, and the rising up of rumors about them.
--
This appears to be from a man who has exchanged letters with a woman but not met, and rumors have arisen. He wonders if their first meeting is as far away as clouds in the sky. The imagery is similar to KKS 482 by Tsurayuki:
- 逢ふことは雲居はるかになる神の音にききつつ恋ひわたるかな
- Our meeting is as far away as the clouds, and I long for you, hearing only rumors of you like distant thunder.
535
返し
Response
よそながら やまんともせず 逢ふ事は 今こそ雲の たえまなるらめ
yoso-nagara Apart from each other yama-n to mo se-zu I will not let it end ahu koto ha Our meetings for now ima koso kumo no Must be like a small break taema naru-rame In a continuous cloud line.
--
The response is strong and assuring, and inverts the image from the original poem. Rather than the clouds being an image of the far away hopes, now they become an image of their eventual meeting. The "break" in the clouds contrast with the "meeting". We might expect the break in the clouds to be a good thing, but the woman's response allows the man's imagery to be used for a positive meaning.
536
又おとこ
Again, the man
今のみと たのむなれども 白雲の たえまはいづか あらんとすらん
ima nomi to It's only for now tanomu nare-domo You seem to be thinking, but sirakumo no The break in the clouds taema ha iduka When will it end, and when ara-n to su-ran Shall we ever meet again?
--
The man's response seems to take the woman's poem as an attempt to evade, suggesting that they may never meet again, using the image of a continuous line of clouds.
537
題しらず
Circumstance unknown
をやみせず 雨さへふれば 沢水の まさるらんとも おもほゆるかな
woyami se-zu Without a small break ame sahe fure-ba Even the rain is falling sahamidu no So the marshy pools masaru-ran tomo Will fill up even more omohoyuru kana Like my longing fills up with tears.
--
There are a number of interpretive difficulties in this poem. The first is that many manuscripts, and the medieval printed editions, give this as a response to the previous poem, or at least as another poem written by the woman. Kifune also emends the text to add this. So all of their interpretations connect the "rain" here to the "clouds" in the preceding poetic exchanges. There seems to be also a general feeling that the "rain" is tears, and that word masaru refers both to the pools filling with rain, as well as the poet's feeling of longing increasing. These interpretations may stand even if this is a standalone poem, especially in light of Tsurayuki's KKS 587:
- まこも刈る淀の沢水あめふれば常よりことにまさるわが恋
- The pools of Yodogawa where they cut seaweed, because rain is falling, they fill up even more, just like my longing.
GSS 537 lacks any explicit mention of "longing," but if we take Tsurayuki's poem as a honka the language may suggest the "longing" all the same.
Katagari, who does not interpret the poem as a response to the previous, rejects the idea that the rain is tears, and links the "without a small break" to the poet's longing.
Supplementary Notes
NB: In every volume title, Teika notes that Fujiwara no Yukinari's text adds 歌 (for instance, in Teika's manuscript the heading for the first volume is 春上, in Yukinari's manuscript it is 春歌上. He also notes at the end of every volume that Yukinari writes "Volume X" (e.g. 巻第一 at the end of volume 1). This would indicate that Yukinari's text was originally twenty separate volumes, or perhaps scrolls.
507S
Textual notes:
- あいがたく] 又あひがたく (中・貞・堀・雲・荒・承・八・標*・新・評・全), 又も(片)
- あひ見て] いひ見て (堀*)
- わびしかりける] こひしかりける (標イ)
Other sources:
- Muneyuki Collection 1. (Second line さよの中山)
- New Poetry Competition of People from Different Eras 57. One of three poems matched against the 12th century poet Minamoto no Yorimasa. (Fifth line こいしかりける)
- Utamakura from the Five Collections 434. Given as an example of Saya no Nakayama. (Fifth line こいしかりける)
508S
Textual notes:
- 暁と] 暁を (中・堀・雲・片*・ハイ・新イ)
Other sources:
- Kokin waka rokujo 2800, 宵の間, Tsurayuki. (First two lines あかつきをなにしいひけん)
509S
Textual notes:
- まさしからなん] まさきからせで (堀$)
Other sources:
- Rokka wakashu 1436
- Iroha wananshu, Karin ryozai, Rokka wakashu chu
510S
Textual notes:
- あひしりて侍りける人] あひしりて侍りける人々 (堀・白・荒・片). This variant may be influenced by the poem's appearance in the Eiga monogatari (see below).
- ゆふぐれと] ゆふぐれも (堀$)
- まされり] まされる (雲・八・標・新*)
Other sources:
- Motoyoshi Collection 1. Prose preface: "Emperor Yozei's first son, Prince Motoyoshi, was a great playboy. If he heard about a good woman whether they met or didn't meet, he sent them letters and poems. He sent this to Gen no Myobu." Several more poems follow in an exchange.
- Eiga monogatari 82 (volume 10). This poem appears as a retrospective, with someone remembering that "one of Emperor Yozei's sons" had sent this poem to several women. The tale gives his "favorite reply" from Hon'in no Jiju. Jiju's poem appears as Shin goshui shu 1149. This exchange also appears in the Kohon setsuwa shu.
511S
Textual notes:
- 藤原かつみ] 藤原さのみ =ツミ, 命婦イ (堀), かみの命婦 (荒・片イ), かつみの命婦 (片). The variations in the name perhaps relate to the situation discussed in the previous notes.
- かゝる] かかれり (荒・片)
- 白露] 白雪 (承*)
- をくる] かへる (白)
- きえはゝつらむ] きえまさるらむ (中), きえやしつべき (雲・慶・新イ)
Other sources:
- Kohon setsuwa shu 72
513S
- いね] いな (荒・片・雲・慶・新イ), いに (堀=)
- 事を] 事に (堀*・白・片*・荒)
- かけしかば] みてしかば (堀*・白), みてしより (雲、慶、新イ), みえしかば (荒・片・新イ)
- 思いづるが] 思いいづるに (堀・慶・荒・片・新イ)
514S
- あらぬなりけり] あらぬころかな (堀・雲・慶・荒・片・新イ)
515S
- うたがた人に] うたがたあはに (白$)
Other sources:
- Kokin waka rokujo 1728 (utakata, Ise) and 2551 ("years passing", Ise)
- Ise Collection 304 and 456. 304 prose preface: "When she had gone somewhere else without letting him know, he thought she had hidden herself away and read this." 456 prose preface: "A man who she had once known, and who she had not told her location, after some time had passed visited her, and he thought that she had departed the world."
- Shunzei 36 person poetry competition 12, one of three poems matching Ise against Otomo no Yakamochi.
- Poetry competition of people from different ages 59.
- 36 woman poetry competition 7. Ise was matched against Kunaikyo.
- Teika jittei, Kigosho, Ogisho, Shuchusho, Godai utamakura, Karin ryozai
- Kindai shuka, Eiga no taigai, Sangoki, Kiribioke, Teika hachidaisho, Hachidai shuka
516S
- 題しらず] ナシ (堀*)
- 三統公忠] よみ人しらず (荒・片*), 三位公忠 (標イ)
- 心はつねに] 心ばかりに (標イ)
- 相坂の関] 相坂の関は (標イ, 新イ)
Other sources:
- Kintada Collection 24, prose preface "Sent to a woman." This is the collection of Minamoto no Kintada so it may have been included in error, or the attribution in the GSS is incorrect.
- Godai utamakura, Utamakura meiyo
517S
- やみぬばかりか] やみぬばかりぞ (堀・荒)
518S
- わが身にぞ] わが身こそ (八)
- あはぬ] あらぬ (堀*), あかぬ (標イ・新イ)
- かずはもえける] かずもみえける (雲), かずはもえけれ (八・標イ)
519S
- ぬれぬ] くちぬ (標イ・新イ). Nakayama preferred this reading ("my clothes will break down and rot").
- 世々] まま (堀*)
520S
- あふくま] ありくま (堀*)
- わびしき] かなしき (中$, 堀)
Other sources:
- 五代歌枕
521S
- 深き心も] 深き心は (標イ・新イ)
522S
- 松山に] 松山は (ハイ・標イ・新イ), 松山の (中・堀・雲・慶・承・新イ)
- 浪に] 浪の (堀*)
- ぬるるそで] ぬるるころ (堀・雲・慶・荒・片・新イ). Even with this variant, the word nururu would still suggest tears.
Other sources:
- Prince Motoyoshi Collection 42. Prose preface: "The Prince heard that a woman he was seeing had seen another man, and wrote this."
- Shoku senzai wakashu 1549. Attributed to Motoyoshi with the same preface as above. Nakayama noted that this attribution is unlikely because woman are typically the ones who wait in poetry, not men.
- Godai utamakura, Utamakura meiki
523S
- 女の] 女のひとの (高+). This was perhaps added in error; 525 in the Teika manuscript has 人の added, and the 523 and 525 prefaces are almost the same. No edition adds these words here (which would change it into a poem sent by a woman to a man).
524S
- こひぬ] 心 (片*)
525S
- 女の人の] 女の (定*, 雲・烏・承・八), no preface (荒・片). In the base text, the 人の is added in at the side with a red dot to indicate the location, but the addition may be original to Teika and all the other Teika texts contain the phrase. Without 人の, the poem is from a man to a woman. Kigin interpreted this as a woman with many lovers. The lack of a preface in the 荒 and 片 texts would apply the 523 preface to this one, still making it sent to a woman.
- なるらし] なるとも(中),なるなる(雲),なるなり(烏), なりけり(新イ). The middle two variants would add the "hearsay" meaning of なり and add an aural dimension to the poem.
- ふちぞ] ふちとぞ (承)
Other sources:
- Godai utamakura, Utamakura meiki
526S
- ふちせとも] ふちもせも (堀・雲・烏・慶・承)
527S
- 世をぞうらむる] In the base text, the そ is written next to the line. All other texts (including Teika's own) contain the そ.
528S
- (よみ人しらず)] 貫之 (貞・堀・雲・烏・荒・片・承・八・標・新). Katagiri records that one manuscript of the Tsurayuki Collection contains this poem, but that manuscript does not seem to be on either the Shimpen kokka taikan or the Shikashu taisei.
529S
- あつよし] あつとし (新イ)
- さよすがら] さよすがた (荒・片*)
- はた] また (標イ・新イ)
Other sources:
- 歌林良材