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Audio: NHK Creative Library
Read by LibriVox volunteer Larry Wilson.
Audio courtesy of LibriVox (Public Domain).
三条右大臣
名にし負はば
逢坂山の
さねかづら
人にしられで
くるよしもがな
ひとにしら
れてくるよ
しもかな
なにし
- Poem 25
- 名にし負はば
逢坂山の
さねかづら
人にしられで くるよしもがな
Author: Minister of the Right of Sanjō (873–932)
Source: Gosen Wakashū, Love
- English Verse Translation
- Hear thou art as modest as The little creeping spray Upon Mount Ōsaka, which hides
Beneath the grass; then, pray, Wander with me to-day.
— William N. Porter, 1909
- Modern Translation
- If the name of Ōsaka carries its meaning — then let me secretly follow the vine I draw toward me, and come to you unseen.
Note: "Ōsaka" is both a place name and a pun on the verb *au* ("to meet"). The vine (*kazura*) reflects the wordplay of the original poem: to pull or draw the vine (*kuru*) and to come (*kuru*) to one's beloved unseen.
- Commentary
- As Minister of the Right, the poet held an extremely high rank, which likely made it difficult for him to meet his lover freely. This poem may express his wish to see her in secret, away from prying eyes. People of the time had a custom of sending along the very object named in a poem as a gift — perhaps he sent this poem together with an actual sanekazura vine.
- About the Poet
- The Minister of the Right of Sanjō, Fujiwara no Sadakata, was the father of Middle Counselor Asatada. He was called "the Sanjō Minister of the Right" because his residence was in the Sanjō district and he held the office of Minister of the Right. As an imperial in-law, he rose to that high rank, and he recognized the talents of Ki no Tsurayuki and Ōshikōchi no Mitsune, supporting their careers as poets.
- Minister of the Right of Sanjō's Chart of the Heart
-
A chart and a modern-language reflection of the poet's inner feelings.
The Poet's Feelings (A Personal Interpretation)
However much I long for you,
I'm not free to see you.If only I could draw you close
the way one gathers a trailing vine…
- Poem Illustration
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This image is based on an illustration from William N. Porter's A Hundred Verses from Old Japan, his 1909 English translation of the Hyakunin Isshu published in England, colorized and reworked using Adobe Firefly (generative AI).