Poem Meaning and Background
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| Photo Credit: Agnieszka Mordaunt on Unsplash |
すみのゑの・きしによるなみ・よるさへや
Sumi no e no・kishi ni yoru nami・yoru sae ya
ゆめのかよいぢ・ひとめよくらむ
yume no kayoi ji・hito me yoku ran
〜藤原敏行朝臣（Fujiwara no Toshiyuki Ason）
Translation
Must you so avoid others’ eyes
that not even at night,
along the road of dreams,
will you draw nigh like the waves
to the shore of Sumi-no-e Bay?
that not even at night,
along the road of dreams,
will you draw nigh like the waves
to the shore of Sumi-no-e Bay?
-Translated by Joshua S. Mostow
Meaning
I usually use translations from an older book of translated poems, but I thought the translation above captured the author's intended meaning better.
In the past, it was said that if the person you love appeared in your dream, it was because they were thinking about you too. On the other hand, if you didn't see your lover, it may mean that they no longer feel close to you. In this poem, the speaker is saying that to avoid other people's stares or judgements about their love, they cannot meet their lover in public, but they are confused as to why their lover will not come to visit them in their dreams at night. Is it that their partner's desire to avoid rumor is so strong that they refuse to draw close even when they cannot be seen? Or is it that their love has grown cold? This poem is filled with the unease of the speaker because they cannot meet their lover, nor can they tell how their lover feels.
In the past, it was said that if the person you love appeared in your dream, it was because they were thinking about you too. On the other hand, if you didn't see your lover, it may mean that they no longer feel close to you. In this poem, the speaker is saying that to avoid other people's stares or judgements about their love, they cannot meet their lover in public, but they are confused as to why their lover will not come to visit them in their dreams at night. Is it that their partner's desire to avoid rumor is so strong that they refuse to draw close even when they cannot be seen? Or is it that their love has grown cold? This poem is filled with the unease of the speaker because they cannot meet their lover, nor can they tell how their lover feels.
In the Heian Period it was not uncommon for male poets to write poetry from the view point of a woman, so this poem is often interpreted as the poet writing from a woman's perspective. We can also see that in this time period, rumors of love affair could cause pretty severe damage to a person's reputation (depending of course on the social status of the person).
The shore mentioned in the poem is in Osaka, and it is famous for its pine trees. As such, it is a place that is often mentioned in waka poetry as being a place where people "pine" for lovers (待つ恋＝松恋). In the Japanese version, the word yoru is repeated; yoru nami means the "waves that are drawn (to the beach)", and yoru sae means "even at night". The phrase "yume no kayoi ji" means quite literally the path the lover would take through a dream to meet their love. In the last line, yoku = sakeru (avoid) and ran is similar to darou (a phrase which is used for guessing). So the speaker is supposing that their lover is trying to avoid the eyes of others, even at night, but they cannot be sure.
The shore mentioned in the poem is in Osaka, and it is famous for its pine trees. As such, it is a place that is often mentioned in waka poetry as being a place where people "pine" for lovers (待つ恋＝松恋). In the Japanese version, the word yoru is repeated; yoru nami means the "waves that are drawn (to the beach)", and yoru sae means "even at night". The phrase "yume no kayoi ji" means quite literally the path the lover would take through a dream to meet their love. In the last line, yoku = sakeru (avoid) and ran is similar to darou (a phrase which is used for guessing). So the speaker is supposing that their lover is trying to avoid the eyes of others, even at night, but they cannot be sure.
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