Kokinshu #373

[lnhammer]

Written and sent to someone who'd gone to the eastern provinces.

    Although I long to
I cannot split my body --
    so I shall send you
as a companion a heart
that can't be seen with the eye.

—14 March 2013

Original by Ikago no Atsuyuki, who is otherwise unknown aside from this one poem in the Kokinshu. ¶ The recipient had gone to Azuma, a general name for the eastern half of Honshu, everything from what's now the Tokyo metro area on north. What is longed for is unstated -- the traditional interpretation is "to go with you," but this reading feels more natural to me. The original plays on the homophone mi meaning both "body/self" and "eye" -- similar to the soundplay of "I" / "eye," though I don't see a way to bring that out as pointedly. Not bad, but the conceit was more charming in #368, when a mother sent her heart.


omoedomo
mi o shi wakeneba
mi ni mienu
kokoro o kimi ni
taguete zo yaru

---L.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

There is too much wordplay in your transcription! It should be "me ni mienu" -- clearly some kind of common root is involved, but "me" is "eye" and "mieru" is "be visible". Interesting take on "omoedomo" -- I would tend to interpret it as "long for you", but you're right that there doesn't seem to be a good reason to exclude the science-fictiony reading. (And #368 is much more charming, I agree.) --Matt

[lnhammer]

*facepalm* on the transcription. I think this is one of those I forgot to double-check before posting.

"Though I long for you" is quite a defensible reading. I still prefer the one above, though.

---L.