Translation
By Fujiwara no Michimasa (992-1054)
Now that
My love must die
I just wish
I could tell you
Without a messenger
| Original Japanese | Original Japanese |
| | |
| 左京大夫道雅 | Sakyo no Daibu Michimasa |
| | |
| 今はただ | Ima wa tada |
| 思ひ絶えなむ | Omoi taenan |
| とばかりを | To bakari wo |
| 人づてならで | Hito-zute nara de |
| いふよしもがな | Iu yoshi mo gana |
Literal Notes
Now just/that
[Feeling/thoughts] [die out/peter out/become extinct/cease]
just/only this
[Message/hearsay] without
Say means/reason [I wish/want]
The poet had fallen in love with Princess Masako and was seeing her secretly. However, she was in charge of the shrine of Ise and therefore supposed to be celibate. So once the Emperor found out, he put the princess under female guardians and the poet was not allowed to see her anymore. He wrote her that he accepted the Emperor’s decision and had to cut off his love, but wished he could tell her this in person rather than through a messenger.
思ひ絶えなむ (Omoi taenan) can mean either “feelings die out” or “to die of love.”
Year:
2012
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