Said by someone to be composed on the feelings of Wang Zhaojun when she was travelling to the kingdom of Hu.
なげきこしみちの露にもまさりけりなれにしさとをこふるなみだは
| nagekikoshi michi no tsuyu ni mo masarikeri narenishi sato o kouru namida wa | A source of grief, The dew upon this road, too, Is great, indeed, as For my familiar home I Shed tears of longing. |
A poem sent by Princess Tajima, when Prince Hozumi was despatched to the Shiga mountain temple in Ōmi, by imperial command.
遺居<而> 戀管不有者 追及武 道之阿廻尓 標結吾勢
後れ居て恋ひつつあらずは追ひ及かむ道の隈廻に標結へ我が背
| okure’wite koitutu arazu pa opisikamu miti no kumami ni sime yupe wa ga se | Left behind and Ever in love, am I not, so I shall follow you; At every turn along your road Leave me tied a sign, o, darling. |
道すがらなぐさむやとてひくことのをごとに玉をぬくなみだかな
| michi sugara nagusamu ya tote hiku koto no ogoto ni tama o nuku namida kana | On the road and Thinking it might console me Plucking upon My lute, where gemstone Teardrops were strung! |
Daishin
Left (Tie)
いかにしてつれなき中を渡るべき足の音もせぬ駒のありとも
| ika ni shite tsurenaki naka o watarubeki ashi no oto mo senu koma no aritomo |
How, indeed, To one so heartless Can I make my way across? Even a silent-footed Steed had I to ride… |
Lord Suetsune
1059
Right (Win)
道遠み妹がりがりいそぐその駒に草取り飼はんなづみもぞする
| michi tōmi imogari isogu sono koma ni kusa torikawan nazumi mo zo suru |
Long is the road To go swiftly seek my darling, so For my steed I’ll go gather grasses That he not tire along the way… |
The Supernumerary Master of the Empress’ Household Office
1060
The Gentlemen of the Right state: we wonder about the appropriateness of making one’s way across when there is no ‘bridge’? The Gentlemen of the Left state: there are no faults to indicate in the Right’s poem.
In judgement: the gentleman of the Left has composed his poem referring to the conception of the Man’yō poem ‘A silent-footed / Colt I’d have: / In Kashitsuka, / The clapper bridge at Mama / To ceaselessly traverse!’, but must have misplaced the bridge somewhere. Truly, I do wonder how it is possible to make one’s way across in the absence of a bridge. Although to say ‘for my steed I’ll go gather grasses’ (sono koma ni kusa torikawan) is something commonplace, doing it to prevent one’s mount getting tired, despite the length of the journey, seems better than lacking a bridge.
