Hyakunin Isshu #88
Wednesday, 11 August 2010 07:57![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lnhammer For one night's brief sleep
short as a root-cut reed's joint
of Naniwa Bay,
must I like a channel mark
wear myself out with long love?
naniwa-e no
ashi no karine no
hitoyo yue
mi o tsukushite ya
koi wataru beki
---L.
short as a root-cut reed's joint
of Naniwa Bay,
must I like a channel mark
wear myself out with long love?
—29 July 2010
Original by Attendant to Empress Kôka, also known as Lady Bettô (a title for a female steward of a household); Kôka was the empress of Sutoku (#77) and daughter of Tadamichi (#76). Written on the topic of "love meeting at a travel inn" -- one-night stands being another thing not new in this world. This has the same Naniwa and the same reed joint as in #19, and miotsukushi / mi o tsukushite is the same pivot-word as in #20. Plus there's two other pivots and the unstated-but-understood-through-allusion "short," making this challenging to translate.naniwa-e no
ashi no karine no
hitoyo yue
mi o tsukushite ya
koi wataru beki
---L.