[67] はるの (Haruno)

 Poem Meaning and Background

Illustration of chapter 20 of "Genji monogatari", by Tosa Mitsunobu 

はるのよの・ゆめばかりなる・たまくらに

haru no yo no・yume bakari naru・tamakura ni

かひなくたたむ・なこそをしけれ

kainaku tatan・na koso oshi kere

〜周防内侍（Suō no Naishi)

Translation

If I lay my head

Upon his arm in the dark

Of a short spring night,

This innocent dream pillow

Will be the death of my good name.

Meaning

One spring evening, the author of this poem was spending time with the women of the imperial court. She commented that she was tired and wanted a pillow, and was overheard by Fujiwara no Tadaie, who was in the room, but separated from the women by bamboo blinds. He offered up his hand as a pillow to her, and in response to this bold offer, the author composed this poem on the spot to gently rebuff his advances. The poem and its backstory offer up an interesting view of how interactions between men and women of the court could become rumors which could tarnish reputations (usually the woman's, it seems). 

In the first two lines, 春の夜の・夢ばかりなる (haruno yo no・ yume bakari naru) , the author uses the images of "spring" and "dreams" to convey the short and fleeting nature of the moment. The word tamakura is written in kanji as 手枕, which literally means "hand pillow", or using ones' arm as a pillow. The phrase かひなく立たむ (kahinaku tatan) means something along the lines of "will spark idle gossip", with かいない meaning worthless or pointless. かいな is also another word for arm, so it carries a double meaning. 名こそ惜しけれ (nakoso oshikere) means that such rumors would be regrettable, since they could tarnish the author's reputation. Here 名 (na), which means "name", could carry the meaning of reputation or social status, but can also mean 浮き名 (ukina), which means a scandal, or rumor of a love affair.

Author

Suō no Naishi (dates unknown, likely died around 1110) was a poet in the late Heian period. Her given name was Taira no Chūshi (also seen translated as Taira no Nakako). She served as a handmaiden, 内侍 (naishi), for Emperor Go-Reizei, Emperor Go-Sanjō, Emperor Shirakawa, and Emperor Horikawa.

Side note: Fujiwara no Tadaie (the man the author is addressing in this poem) is the grandfather of Fujiwara no Shunzei, author of [83] Yononakayo, and great-grandfather of Fujiwara no Teika, author of [97] Konu and the compiler of the Hyakunin Isshu.