Year
My Translation
You have made a pledge
On your sleeves, leaving mementos
Wrung dry repeatedly—
But Pine Mountain
Has been overrun by waves.
Original Japanese | Pronunciation |
清原元輔 | Kiyohara no Motosuke |
ちぎりきな | Chigiriki na |
かたみに袖を | Katami ni sode o |
しぼりつつ | Shibori tsutsu |
末の松山 | Sue no Matsuyama |
波こさじとは | Nami kosaji to wa |
Literal Translation
[Pledge/promise/swear/have sex/tear up/do vigorously] have !
[Mutually/shoulders/one side of body/memento/souvenir] sleeves that
[Press/wring/squeeze] [while/repeatedly]
Sue’s pine mountain [sue = place name, or “end”]
Waves [shall cross over]
In the original collection, this poem had a note saying it was written for someone whose lover changed her mind. It references a poem in the famous classical Japanese poetry anthology, Kokinshu, poem #1093, with the line that they will love each other until the waves overrun Mount Suenomatsu, a mountain in northern part of the main island in Japan.
Suenomatsu is the name of a mountain, but “sue no” means “to the end” and “pine” is a symbol for waiting because it has the same pronunciation as the character “to wait” or “matsu.” So together, the mountain’s name symbolizes “wait until the end." It also references tears on a sleeve wrung dry repeatedly, a common symbol in Japanese poetry of tearful lovers' vows.