Hyakunin Isshu #46
Monday, 3 May 2010 07:50![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lnhammer Much like a boatman
who loses his sculling oar
crossing Yura Straight,
I have also lost my way,
ah me, on the path of love.
yura no to o
wataru funabito
kaji o tae
yukue mo shiranu
koi no michi kana
---L.
who loses his sculling oar
crossing Yura Straight,
I have also lost my way,
ah me, on the path of love.
—24 April 2010
Original by Sone no Yoshitada. It's not clear whether this is the better-known Yura in what's now Wakayama Prefecture or the Yura in Tango Province (now northern Kyoto Prefecture) where Yoshitada was a minor official. Orthography issues: It's possible to read the boatman as either losing his oar (o as direct object marker) or breaking the cord (wo as archiac noun) that holds it in the lock. The former is the standard interpretation, and to me makes a better comparison as causing more trouble.yura no to o
wataru funabito
kaji o tae
yukue mo shiranu
koi no michi kana
---L.