Hyakunin Isshu: Meet the Poets
Mother of the Right Captain Michitsuna

Meaning

Lying alone, waiting for the long night to end — how endless it feels. Does the person who left me even know?

Commentary

This poem is addressed to an absent husband. The image of a woman lying alone in the dark, sighing (nagekitsutsu), is quietly devastating. The rhetorical question — "do you know how long?" — accuses without openly accusing, placing the burden of ignorance on the man who rarely visits.

The Mother of Michitsuna is the author of the Kagerō Nikki (Gossamer Diary), one of the earliest Japanese personal diaries written by a woman. It records the anguish of her marriage to Fujiwara no Kaneie, who had many wives and often neglected her.

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