[19] なにわが (Naniwaga)

 Poem Meaning and Background

 Photo of reeds by Nakkaa on Unsplash

なにはがた・みじかきあしの・ふしのまも

Naniwa gata・mijikaki ashi no・fushi no ma mo

あはでこのよを・すぐしてよとや

awade kono yo o・ sugushite yo to ya

〜　伊勢（Ise）

Translation

Even for a time

Short as a piece of the reeds

In Naniwa's marsh,

We must never meet again:

Is this what you are asking me?

Meaning

    The "Naniwa marsh" mentioned in this poem is a famous location often referred to in waka poems, including other poems in the Hyakunin Isshu. The area around the inlet to Naniwa bay (in Osaka) was once completely covered in reeds, making for a lonely and desolate setting. Fushi is a joint or node on a reed, so the "short piece of reed" the author is referring to is literally just the space between joints on a reed, so it is quite a small length indeed. 

    This poem overlays the image of a barren inlet overgrown with reeds on top of the writer's growing despair over the realization that she may never again be able to meet the man she loves. In the poem, it seems possible that it is not just a matter of the man being physically far away and unable to meet the author, but rather that her lover's heart has changed, and he has moved on from her. 

Author

A depiction of the author and her
 poem by the artist Agameishi

Lady Ise (c. 877~938) was daughter of 藤原継陰（Fujiwara no Tsugukage), who was kami (basically a governor) of Ise Province. She is recorded among the 36 immortals of poetry. This poem was apparently addressed as a response Fujiwara no Nakahira, the brother in law of Emperor Uda, while she worked as a lady in waiting for the Empress. She eventually became a concubine of Emperor Uda and bore him a son. She also was a lover of Emperor Uda's 4th son, Prince Atsuyoshi.