Year
My Translation
We must never meet again in this world—
And even a rendezvous
As short as the reeds
Of the Naniwa marshes
Is too much—is that what you mean?
Original Japanese
伊勢
難波潟
みじかき芦の
ふしのまも
あはでこの世を
過ぐしてよとや
Pronunciation
Ise
Naniwa gata
Mijikaki ashi no
Fushi no ma mo
Awade kono yo o
Sugushite yo to ya
Literal & Notes
This is the most common literal interpretation:
Naniwa Bay [Naniwa is the old name for Osaka]
Short reed’s
Attached interval even
Not meeting this world
Too much saying?
However, because the writing is in hiragana rather than kanji, there are many other possible meanings for. Line 3 could also be “Lie down in bed’s time interval also” or “attached truthfulness” among others readings, which gives it a deeper and more bitter meaning. In line 4, “awade” is usually read as “not meeting” but it can be read as “frothy,” which emphasizes the fleeting meeting that is not going to happen. This has all the possible interpretations:
Line 1: Naniwa Bay
Line 2: Short reed’s
Line 3: [father & son / joint / knuckle / melody / tune / immortality / bend down / lie down in bed / prostrate oneself/affixed/attached]’s [time interval / demon / truth / reality / genuineness] also
Line 4: [not meeting / bubble / foam / froth] this [world / society / age / generation]
Line 5: [overdo / exceed / go beyond / too much] [world / society / age / generation / over / more than / evening / night] you say ?