[3]あし(Ashi)

 Poem Meaning and Background

A picture of a mountain pheasant (yamadori)

あしびきの・やまどりのをの・しだりをの

ashibiki no・yama-dori no o no・hidari o no

ながながしよを・ひとりかもねん

naga-nagashi yo o・hitori kamo nen 

〜柿本人麿 (Kakinomoto no Hitomaro)    

 (also written 人丸＝Hitomaru or 人麻呂=Hitomaro)

Translation

Oh, the foot-drawn trail
Of the mountain pheasant's tail 
Drooped like a down-curved branch!
Through this long, long-dragging night
Must I lie in bed alone?

Meaning

    The poem compares a long night, spent separate from one's lover, to the long draping plumage of the Copper pheasant, or Mountain pheasant (Yama-dori). This type of bird lives in hills and mountain forests across Japan, and though the males and females spend the daytime together, they nest separately at night. This poem is notable for its alliteration, with no and o sounds repeating in the first half. The repetition of the word naga (=long) serves to emphasize the loneliness of the speaker. 

Author

   Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (dates unknown) was a poet in the late Asuka Period. As a court poet, he served Empress Jitō, author [2] Harusu, as well as Emperor Monmu, her husband. The author was posthumously recognized as a master poet, and is noted as one of the "Thirty-Six Immortal Poets". 
    
    His work can also be found in the Man'yōshū, another famous anthology of Japanese poetry. Though most information about his life is uncertain, much of what is known comes from this classic anthology.