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14 - (Man'Yoshu) Alexander Vovin - Man'Yōshū (Book 14) - A New English Translation Containing The Original Text, Kana Transliteration, Romanization, Glossing and Commentary (2012, Global Oriental)
14 - (Man'Yoshu) Alexander Vovin - Man'Yōshū (Book 14) - A New English Translation Containing The Original Text, Kana Transliteration, Romanization, Glossing and Commentary (2012, Global Oriental)
14 - (Man'Yoshu) Alexander Vovin - Man'Yōshū (Book 14) - A New English Translation Containing The Original Text, Kana Transliteration, Romanization, Glossing and Commentary (2012, Global Oriental)
BOOK 14
- -
MAN'YOSHU
BOOK 14
by
Alexander Vovin
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I AT MANOA
GLOBAL
ORIENTAL
MAN'YOSHO: BOOK 14
Translared by Alexander Vovin
PL758.15.A62012
895.6'11---dc23
2012017145
ISBN 978-90-04-23359-1
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval
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List ofcharts IX
Acknowledgements Xl
Abbreviations Xltt
Preface xv
Introduction 1
Man'yoshu - Book 14 25
Bibliography 262
LIST OF CHARTS
LANGUAGES
Chin. Chinese
EMC Early Middle Chinese
EOJ Eastern Old Japanese
LHC Later Han Chinese
LMC Late Middle Chinese
MdJ Modem Japanese
MC Middle Chinese
MJ Middle Japanese
MK Middle Korean
OJ Old Japanese
OK Old Korean
PAN proto-Austronesian
PJ proto-Japonic
PlN proto-Japanese
PR proto-Ryfikyfian
Sk. Sanskrit
WOJ Western Old Japanese
SNK ShokuNihongikayo
SSJ Shinsen jikyo, 898-901 AD
USM Uji shiii monogatari, 1213-21 AD
WMS Wamyosho, 931-38 AD
MAN'Y0SHO XIV
GRAMMATICAL TERMS
ABS Absolutive
ADJ Adjectivizer
ASSER Assertive
ATTR Attributive
BEN Benefactive
CADS Causative
CL Classifier
COM Comitative
COMP Comparative
CON Conjunctive gerund
CONC Concessive gerund
COND Conditional gerund
CONJ Conjunction
CONJC Conjectural
COOP Cooperative
COOR Coordinative gerund
COP Copula
DAT Dative
DEB Debitive
DES Desiderative
DIR Directive
DLF Directive-locative focus
DV Defective verb
EMPH Emphatic
EV Evidential
EXCL Exclamation
FIN Final verbal form
GEN Genitive
GER Gerund
HON Honorific
HUM Humble
INF Infinitive
INTER Interjection
LOC Locative
NEG Negative
NML Nominalizer
OSM Oblique stem marker
PAST Past tense
PEJ Pejorative
PERF Perfective
PLUR Plural
POL Polite
POSS Possessive
POT Potential
PREF Prefix
PREY Preverb
PROG Progressive
PT Particle
REC Reciprocal
RETR Retrospective
SUB Subordinative gerund
xv MAN'YQSHU
SUBJ Subjunctive
SUP Suppositional
TENT Tentative
TERM Tenninative
TOP Topic
PREFACE
W ith this volume (book fourteen) I continue the new English translation of
the Man 'yoshii (;§t ~ ~), the earliest and largest Japanese poetic
anthology (ca. between 759 and 782 AD) with detailed commentaries. The first
two volumes of this translation were books fifteen and five of the Man 'yoshu,
and have already appeared (Vovin 2009c, 2011a).
I provided the explanation to this seemingly eclectic order of translation in
the preface to the translation of book fifteen, so I will not repeat it here.
However, I now have to advise the reader that the previously announced order
of translation will be slightly altered: thus, I will translate book twenty and not
book seventeen after book fourteen. The main reason for this is that book twenty
contains many poems of Border Guards (WOJ sakfm6ri) that are written in the
same Eastern Old Japanese as many Azuma poems that appear in book fourteen.
This change will allow me to finish dealing with texts in Eastern Old Japanese
earlier in the translation process and then tum my attention exclusively to poems
in Western Old Japanese.
This new translation is an academic one. There are several reasons for that.
First, the Man 'yoshU is not only a work of literature; it is the most important
compendium of Japanese culture during the Asuka period (592-710 AD) and
most of the Nara period (710-784 AD). A literary translation will inevitably call
for poetically-sounding English at the expense of the Japanese text. However, I
want to present the Man 'yoshu to the reader having preserved as far as possible
the actual flavor and semantics of the poems. That is, I want the Japanese poets
of that distant age to speak to the reader in their own words, rather than
according to English poetics. Consequently, I have endeavored to make the
translations as literal as possible without violating English usage. Second, many
realia of this distant era are absolutely alien not only to Westerners, but also to
modem Japanese. This requires an extensive commentary, which has no place in
a literary translation, because it may seem an interruption of the general flow of
the text. Third, I provide the original text, kana transliteration, romanization,
and glossing with morphemic analysis for the benefit of the specialists and
students of Old Japanese, who will be interested in learning the language.
Finally, like the previous translators Pierson, Honda, and Suga, I am not a native
speaker of English; ironically, however, a native speaker of English has yet to
complete a translation of the Man 'yoshu.
Book fourteen of the Man 'yoshu is important for both the history of the
Japanese language, and the history of Japanese literature. Its main value is
twofold: first, it contains many poems written in Eastern Old Japanese, a cover
term for a dialect continuum that extended in ancient times from roughly the
southern part of modem Chiibu to Southern T6hoku. Second, it provides
important glimpses of the culture and customs in ancient Japan's Eastern
Provinces that in many aspects were substantially different from the culture and
customs adopted by the court and higher tier of provincial aristocrats.
In my translation I have kept notes on grammar to a minimum, as detailed
explanations would simply repeat my A Descriptive and Comparative Grammar
of Western Old Japanese, which also has sections on Eastern Old Japanese
PREFACE XVII
(Vovin 2005, 2009a). Since this is the most detailed grammar of Western Old
Japanese in any language, even including Japanese, those who are specifically
interested in grammatical issues are advised to consult it while reading through
the translation of poems written in Western Old Japanese. For those who are not,
I hope that the glossing and morphemic analysis will provide enough guidance.
However, since many poems in book fourteen are in Eastern Old Japanese, I
have provided a sketch of Eastern Old Japanese grammar in the introduction,
and also taken the liberty of including lengthier commentaries on it.
Some readers may find my romanization of Old Japanese difficult to digest,
especially if they have no knowledge of the history of the Japanese language.
This romanization, which is essentially a mix of a transcription and a
transliteration of the Old Japanese original text, serves the dual purpose of
conveying both the phonology of Old Japanese and its writing. Thus, even if the
text contains unetymological spellings (like the confusion between ko-rui Imol
and otsu-rui Imol, since the contrast between 10/ and 101 after 1m! was already
lost in all the books of the Man 'yoshii except book five, where it is preserved to
a certain extent), they are faithfully romanized according to the spelling found in
a given text. In my romanization I have also tried to reflect the actual phonology
of the language of the time, which was considerably different from that of
modern Japanese. Thus, for example, Modern Japanese fricative /hi was Old
Japanese stop Ipl, and Modern Japanese voiced stops /hI, Id/, Ig/ were
prenasalized stops l"b/, I"d/, I~g/, transliterated as INpl, INti, and /NkI. In
Classical philology it has already been known, starting from Erasmus of
Rotterdam, that one cannot read Ancient Greek in its Modern Greek
pronunciation, but the idea that the same is true for Old Japanese and Modem
Japanese seems to come very slowly to the minds of the majority of Western
Japanologists engaged in historical and literary studies. In any case, for the
benefit of those who do not like to bother with a romanization based on the
principles of historical linguistics, I have provided the kana transliteration, since
I cannot bring myself to romanize Old Japanese as if it were Modem Japanese.
The only minor deviation that I allowed myself with the kana transliteration is
to introduce subscripts 1 and 2 which denote ko-rui and otsu-rui syllabic signs
respectively. I hope that this deviation at least helps the notion of ki5 and otsu
vowels, already known for roughly one hundred years, to find its way into the
romanizations of Old Japanese in Western Japanologicalliterature.
Alexander Vovin
Honolulu
August 2010 - December 2011
INTRODUCTION
This brings the total number of poems recorded in book fourteen to 249.
In contrast to books five and fifteen, all poems in book fourteen are
anonymous, and none of them dated, with the possible exception of 14.3399
that can be dated either 702 or 713-14 AD. However, if one looks at the order of
provinces in the identified section of book fourteen (see the section on the
structure of book fourteen below), MuNsasi province appears as one of the
provinces of the Tokaido region O~:/im). Meanwhile, it is well known that
MuNsasi was originally a province from the Tosando region C*l1Jm), and was
transferred into the Tokaido region only in 771 AD. This gives us the non ante
quem date for the compilation of book fourteen: under these circumstances it
could not have been put together earlier than 771 AD.
Four major Man 'yoshii genres are present in book fourteen: miscellaneous
poems (zoka, ~~), relationship poems (somonka, Hillfl~), allegorical poems
(hiyuka, J:t~~), and one elegy poem (banka, }£UfX), the last poem in the book.
The spelling system in this volume is predominantly phonographic, although
there are occasional semantograms used here and there.
Since the provinces are not known in the unidentified section, the poems are
organized there exclusively by genres. The following list conveys the general
structure of book fourteen:
Apart from the divisions into geographical regions and genres the structure
of the identified section of book fourteen is rather vague. Several very loosely
connected poetic mini-sequences, which should be called quasi-sequences, can
be found in the identified section. The loose connection between the poems is
usually based on referring to the same object, or a person, or in most cases the
same place name. It must be kept in mind that with one notable exception
(14.3348-14.3349) these mini-sequences are also found within the same
geographical region, and there are no overlaps between two or more
geographical regions. In addition, not every poem from the identified section
can be assigned to a mini-sequence, as becomes clear from the chart below.
Finally, in one case there is a mini-sequence found within another mini-
sequence, and in one more case, one poem belongs simultaneously to two
neighboring mini-sequences.
Mini-sequences Poems
Poems referring to boats 3348-3349
Poems referring to Mt. Tukupa and garments/cloth 3350-3351
Poems referring to Mt. PuNsi 3355-3358, 3358b
Poems referring to AsiNkara ~ AsiNkari mountains 3363-3364,
3369-3371
Poems referring to Kamakura region 3365-3366
Poems referring to MuNsasi province 3374-3379
Poems referring to Mt. UmaNkuta 3382-3383
Poems referring to KaNtusika area 3384-3387
Poems about the maiden from KaNtusika 3384-3385
Poems referring to Mt. Tukupa 3388-3396
Poems referring to Kamitukeno province 3404-3407,
3415-3418
Poems referring to Mt. Ikapo 3409-3410,
3414-3415,
3421-3423
Poems referring to Simotukeno province 3424-3425
The chart above only partially follows Mizushima's classification (1986: 3).
I have borrowed his wisdom in approaching Azuma uta as a more coherent and
not an absolutely chaotic collection, but not the exact execution of it, as his and
my approaches are somewhat different, both in terms of assigning topics, as
well as in actual subdivisions; e.g. Mizushima does not classify any poems
beyond 14.3566 into any general topics. Contrary to Mizushima, I think that the
remaining poems 14.3567-14.3577 can also be classified. Two interesting
results emerge from this point of view. First, all border guards poems are united
by the topic of lovers' separation. This might be trivial enough, but the second
alignment might be much more important, since both the allegorical poems and
an elegy in the unidentified section of book fourteen are united by the same
reference point - flowers and plants.
6 MAN'YQSHO
by the fact that the language essentially uses the WOJ system of writing. There
are two basic monographs dealing almost entirely with EOJ phonology: Fukuda
(1965), and Hojo (1966), cf. also quite an innovative article by Hino (2003).
The most painstaking research that attempts to describe phonologies of
individual EOJ dialects separately, and not as a phonology of a single language
has been done by Kupchik in his recent Ph.D. dissertation (2011). An interested
reader should consult this excellent dissertation for details, as here I only offer
some general notes.
As becomes apparent, from the usage of WOJ man 'yogana script in EOJ,
there is no EOJ dialect that has the same vocalism that WOJ does, and all EOJ
dialects present somewhat reduced vocalic systems in comparison to WOJ. It
would probably be unwise to speak about the 'collapse' of ko-otsu distinctions
in EOJ, and to use the word 'misspelling' in reference to the confusion between
WOJ ko and otsu vowels in EOJ texts. Although I used 'misspelling' several
times when paying tribute to the tradition several times in my commentary, it
should be taken with a big pinch of salt. The truth is that WOJ and various EOJ
vocalic systems have taken different paths of development from proto-Japanese,
and there is simply no one-to-one correspondence system that accounts for all
vowel correspondences between WOJ and various EOJ dialects. However, the
very fact that all EOJ dialects exhibit less complicated vowel systems than WOJ
might be at least partially attributed to the influence of the Ainu substratum,
since modem Ainu dialects all have only five-vowel systems, and proto-Ainu
probably had no more than six vowels, pace Vovin (1993), where much richer
proto-Ainu vocalism was proposed.
There are, however, several phonological and morphophonological
phenomena that seem to be common to all or most EOJ dialects. They are
briefly outlined below, and the examples cited are not necessarily exhaustive.
Some examples below, in fact, are cited from book twenty since they are not
attested in book fourteen.
First, there is a mysterious correspondence of EOJ -n- to WOJ -r- in few
forms: EOJ diminutive suffix -na (14.3384, 14.3385, 14.3402, 14.3436, 14.3444,
14.3446, 14.3483, 14.3544, 20.4358) vs. WOJ -ra, id., EOJ tentative -unam-
(14.3366, 14.3476, 14.3496, 14.3526, 14.3552, 14.3563) vs. WOJ -uram-, id.,
EOJ yun- 'to sleep' (14.3476a) vs. late MJ o-yor- 'id.', and EOJ n6Nkan-ape-
'to flow constantly' (14.3476, 14.3476a) vs. WOJ naNkar-ape- 'id.'
Second, palatalization of ti > si, unknown in WOJ. Examples: EOJ tas-i 'rise
and' (14.3395, 20.4383) vs. WOJ tat-i 'id.', mos-i 'hold and' (20.4420) vs.
WOJ mot-i 'id.', EOJ peNtas-i 'separation' (14.3445) vs. WOJ peNtat-i 'id.',
EOJ iNtusi 'where to' (14.3474) vs. WOJ iNtuti 'id.', EOJ tusi 'earth' (20.4392)
vs. WOJ tuti 'id.', EOJ sisi 'father' (20.4376) vs. WOJ titi 'id.'
Third, following terminology proposed in Russell (2006), EOJ undergoes the
process of contraction vs. the WOJ process of monophtongization. This can be
best illustrated by their respective progressive and retrospective forms. While
the PJN *i+a contracts to just -a- in EOJ at morphemic boundaries, it results in
a new vowel -e- in WOJ. Examples: EOJ -ar-, progressive (14.3351 (twice),
14.3469, 14.3526) vs. WOJ -er-, id.; EOJ -kar-, retrospective (20.4388) vs.
WOJ -ker-, id.
Fourth, EOJ consistently loses the final consonant -y both in final position
and before the next consonant, while WOJ undergoes the process of
monophtongization, treating this final -y as an element of a falling diphthong.
Examples: EOJ tuku 'moon' (14.3395, 14.3476, 14.3476a, 14.3565,20.4413) <
8 MAN'YQSHU
PJN *tukuy vs. WOJ tukr 'id.', EOJ pu 'fire' (20.4419) < PJN *poy vs. WOJ pi"
'id.'
Fifth, while WOJ seems to preserve primary PJ vowels *e and *0 in the last
syllable of a nominal root according to Hayata's law (Hayata 1998), EOJ seems
to behave quite erratically in this respect. On the one hand, it seems to preserve
quite well primary PJ vowels *e and *0 in EOJ attributive adjectival -ke and
verbal attributive -a, as well as possibly in some non-last syllables, but on the
other hand it undergoes clear raisings of *0 > u and *e >i in the final syllables
of nominal roots, like EOJ kumu (20.4403) 'cloud' vs. WOJ kuma 'id.'
The brief sketch of EOJ morphology is not comprehensive either, and its
sole purpose is to assist the reader who is only familiar with WOJ and/or MJ
with the peculiarities of EOJ. A reader who is interested in more details should
consult Kupchik (2011), and/or Vovin (2005, 2009a). The references to the
latter can be found throughout the commentary.
EOJ nouns do not show the alternation between compounding and free forms
of nouns unlike WOJ. The attested forms in phonographic writing correspond to
WOJ compounding forms, like EOJ tuku 'moon' (14.3395, 14.3476, 14.3476a,
14.3565, 20.4413) < PJN *tukuy vs. WOJ tuki" - tuku- 'id.', EOJ pu 'fire'
(20.4419) < PJN *poy vs. WOJ pi' - po- 'id.', with an EOJ form always
corresponding to WOJ compounding form. The explanation for this
phenomenon was given above in the discussion on morphophonology.
The case system of EOJ includes two case markers: locative -na (14.3408,
14.3447, 14.3461, 14.3487), not attested in WOJ, and comparative -nosu
(14.3413, 14.3424, 14.3514, 14.3525, 14.3541, 14.3552, 14.3561), that has only
one dubious attestation in WOJ. Both case markers, therefore, should be
recognized as EOJ specific.
EOJ diminutive suffix -na (14.3384, 14.3385, 14.3402, 14.3436, 14.3444,
14.3446, 14.3483, 14.3544, 20.4358) corresponding to WOJ -ra, id., was
discussed above.
EO] diminutive suffix -ro (14.3351, 14.3361, 3369, 3370, etc., multiple
occurrences), seems to be a predominantly EOJ form, because among two WOJ
examples of this suffix cited in Vovin (2005: 210), one comes from an EO] text
(FK 3), and another one (NK 3) might invite other explanations. See the
commentary to 14.3351 for more details.
A peculiar phonetic form of the first person singular pronoun wanu (14.3476,
14.3476a) or wana (20.4358) corresponding to WO] wa[-] - waN- is attested in
EOJ.
EOJ adjectival attributive suffix -ke (14.3412, 14.3483, 14.3500, 14.3517,
14.3533, 14.3548, 14.3551, 14.3557, 14.3564, 14.3576, 20.4369), also spelled
-kif (20.4376, 20.4382, 20.4394, 20.4414) corresponds to the WOJ adjectival
attributive suffix -kf. EOJ form preserves PJN primary *e, while WOJ
undergoes the process of raising *e > i.
EOJ adjectival evidential suffix _ka_ 9 (14.3473, 14.3539) corresponds to
WOJ -ke-, exhibiting the same vowel correspondence EOJ a : WOJ e as in EOJ
progressive suffix -ar- vs. WOJ -er- and EOJ retrospective suffix -kar- vs. WOJ
-ker-. Care must be taken not to confuse it with the EOJ -k-, a contracted form
of the adjectival attributive suffix -ke-, found exclusively before the conditional
gerund suffix -aNpa in the form -k-aNpa (14.3383, 14.3410).
The chart above illustrates several important points. First, the only variation
between variants -0 and -0 occurs after the consonant /m1. But it is well known
that the contrast between ko-rui syllable mo and otsu-rui syllable mo is lost in
the Man 'yoshu except statistically in book five (Bentley 1997). Given this as
well as the fact that EOJ texts are written in WOJ orthography, we can safely
conclude that there was no morphophonemic distinction between EOJ -0 and -0
for the attributive form. In all likelihood, this form was just [0], although
naturally we have no means of asserting the exact phonetic value.
Second. it becomes apparent that the EOJ verbal attributive suffix -0 was
much more widespread in its distribution as compared to its narrower
distribution outlined in the traditional Japanese approach above. The evidence
presented above strongly suggests that once this suffix could be found across
the board in verbal paradigms, including vowel verbs. As a matter of fact, the
WOJ vowel verb attributive suffix -uru can be an innovation, going back to a
stative *-ur- + attributive -u, derived from -0 by progressive assimilation (*-ur-6
> -uru) as proposed in Russell (2006).
10 I omit here deliberately the distribution of the EOJ verbal attributive suffix -0 ~ -0 in book
twenty, as I have not as yet had the chance to research it properly. The cumulative results will be
presented in the introduction to the translation of book twenty.
10 MAN'Y0SHO
There is also another EOJ attributive in -a that occurs much less frequently
(14.3405, 14.2408, 14.3461, 14.3487, 14.3526, 14.3557).
The EOJ progressive -ar- and the retrospective -kar- already have been
commented upon above in the discussion ofEOJ morphophonology.
II Although the palatalization m- > n- /_i is possible, the vowel shift i > 6 remains unexplained.
BOOK FOURTEEN 11
Alcina (p.n.) < Ainu ay-kina 'arrow grass'. Attested in: 3431.
aNsu 'crumbling cliff < ? Ainu *-as- 'to split' + so 'rocky shore', 'hidden
rocks in the sea'. Attested in: 3539, 3541.
ANtikama (p.n.) < Ainu: and 'obsidian' + kama 'flat rock, rock'. Attested in:
3551,3553.
AsiNkara - AsiNkari (p.n.) < Ainu askar-i 'clear place'. Attested in: 3361,
3363, 3364, 3364a, 3367, 3368, 3369,3370, 3371, 3431, 3432.
atu- 'sea' < Ainu atuy 'id.' Attested in: 3503.
ka 'top' < Ainu ka 'id.' Attested in: 3409,3503,3518.
kariNpa 'sakura' < Ainu karinpa 'sakura [bark]'. Attested in: 3399.
Inasa (p.n.) < Ainu inaw-san 'the place where inaw [are offered]'. Attested in:
3429.
Kake (p.n.) < Ainu ka-kes 'upper end'. Attested in: 3553.
KaNtusika (p.n.) < Ainu ka-n-toska < *ka-ne-toska top-COP-Iow.cliffs 'low
cliffs that are above'. Attested in: 3349, 3350, 3353, 3384, 3385, 3386,
3387.
12 MAN'YDSHlJ
KiNpe (p.n.) < Ainu kimpe 'bear' « kim-pe 'mountain thing'). Attested in:
3353,3354.
koNtok- 'to bless with words' < Ainu ko-itak 'to speak to, to address words to'
(normally contracted to koytak). Attested in: 3506.
rna 'wife' < Ainu mat 'woman, wife'. Attested in: 3502.
mato 'girl' < Ainu mat-po 'girl' « mat 'woman, wife', po 'child'). Attested in:
3407.
MuNsasi (p.n.) < Ainu mun 'grass' + sa 'shore, plain' + -hi third person
singular possessive. i.e. 'grass plain' or 'grass shore'. Attested in: 3362a,
3374, 3375, 3376, 3376a, 3377, 3379.
na 'river' < Ainu nay 'id.' Attested in: 3401.
Nipu (p.n.) < Ainu placename Nipu 'storage in the forest on the river bank for
storing frozen salmon' « ni 'tree' + pu 'storage'). Attested in: 3560.
0-, locative prefix < Ainu 0-, id. Attested in 3473.
pa 'to find' < Ainu pa 'id.' Attested in: 3499.
paka 'rumor, gossip' < Ainu pahaw 'id.' Attested in: 3385.
pfro 'oak' < Ainu pero or pero-ni 'id.' Attested in: 3538.
pfNsi 'sandbank' < Ainu pis 'shore', pis-i 'its shore'. Attested in: 3448.
Pita (p.n.) < Ainu pitar 'stone field' < pit-tar 'pebbles-continue one after
another'. Attested in: 3563.
PuNsi (p.n.) < Ainu pun- 'to raise' + sir 'ground, place, mountain'. Attested in:
3355,3356, 3357, 3358, 3358b.
Sinanu (p.n.) < Ainu sinam « sir-nam) 'to be cold' + nup 'mountain field'.
Attested in: 3352, 3399, 3400.
siNta 'time, when' < Ainu hi 'time, occasion' + ta, locative case marker.
Attested in: 3363, 3461, 3478, 3515, 3520, 3533.
sarno 'not' < Ainu soma 'id.'. Attested in: 3382.
su 'again' < Ainu suy 'id.' Attested in: 3363,3487,3564.
Tayupi (p.n.) < Ainu tay-yupe 'dead shark' (tay 12 'die' + yupe 'shark').
Attested in: 3549.
teNko 'maiden, beloved' < Ainu tek 'hand, arm' + a 'take in, embrace'. Attested
in: 3384, 3385, 3398,3442,3477, 3485,3540.
tara 'together' < Ainu tura 'id.' Attested in: 3409,3561.
Toya (p.n.) < Ainu to-ya 'lake shore' (to 'lake' + ya 'shore, dry land'). Attested
in: 3529.
Tukupa (p.n.) < Ainu tuk 'small mountain' + pa 'head, top'. Attested in: 3350,
3351,3388,3389,3390,3391,3392,3393,3394,3395,3396.
Tumu (p.n.) < Ainu tum 'middle (of water, land, or grassy area'). Attested in:
3438.
unaru 'to search' < Ainu hunar 'id.' Attested in: 3361.
-y-, indefinite direct object prefix < Ainu i-, id. Attested in: 3526.
ya 'shore' < Ainu ya 'shore, dry land'. Attested in: 3562.
Yupuma (p.n.) < Ainu *yup(u) 'strong' + maw 'wind', i.e., '[the mountain of]
strong winds'. Attested in: 3475.
12 fay is Sakhalin Ainu fonn corresponding to ray in Hokkaido Ainu. Both reflect PA *8ay.
BOOK FOURTEEN 13
(1986: 4-5), but all of them essentially suggest that a speaker of WOJ was either
a direct compiler of book fourteen, or it was transcribed by a speaker of WOJ
eliciting the recitation by a border guard. There is also a separate theory
advanced by Sakurai Mitsuru (t~#1iMl), according to which book fourteen was
passed down as a part of an oral transmission or a performance (Mizushima
1986: 5). Mizushima rejects all these hypotheses, choosing to present his own
that might seem equally fantastic, although it might hold a kernel of truth: the
initial compilers were the secretarial heads of offices in various Eastern
provinces, and there was not a single person responsible for the compilation
(1986: 6). Mizushima also makes an interesting observation that given the high
number of unidentified poems in book fourteen, the original scribe and the later
compiler must be two different persons (1986: 6). This, however, can be
contested on the grounds that the compiler was either not familiar with all EOJ
dialects, or that he was faithfully copying some part of a family heirloom, where
the poems were classified as poems from unidentified provinces. In any case, it
appears that no one has argued before for a native speaker of EOJ as an original
compiler of book fourteen; however, I will try to make this argument below.
Although I wholeheartedly support the theory that Opotomo-no Yakamoti
was the compiler of the Man 'yoshii as an Ur-text of the anthology that came
down to us, I would like to advance here anew, bold hypothesis regarding the
original compiler of book fourteen that is based on certain textual facts,
man 'yogana script, and linguistic data. My contention is that the original
compiler of book fourteen was not any person or person(s) from the capital of
Nara, as Mizushima believes (1986: 6), but actually a person from the Eastern
Provinces, probably a border guard of some prominence, who was bilingual in
both WOJ and some EOJ dialect that was his native tongue. Opotomo-no
Yakamoti certainly knew this person who passed to him some, if not all, of his
poetry records. I further intend to claim that this unknown person - let us call
him 'Border guards commander' for the sake of the lack of an actual name -
was also the scribe who is responsible for passing on to us book fifteen of the
Man 'yoshii close to the form it is known to us today.
First, let us review some textual evidence:
(1) While most border guards poems (sakimori uta, Il/5 JdfX), collected by
Opot6mo-no Yakamoti himself and included in book twenty, have at least some
EOJ linguistic features, this is not the case in book fourteen, where ninety-five
out of 249 poems (including variants) are in impeccable WOJ. There are three
possible reasons to explain this anomaly: (a) an original compiler translated
EOJ poems in WOJ, (b) the same job was done by the secondary compiler, (c)
the poems were recorded as such without any attention given to the actual
language they were composed in, but just to the geographic locality. Given (a) it
is incomprehensible why the original compiler chose to translate only ninety-
five poems, but not the rest. As for (b), given the fact that Yakamoti wrote
poems imitating border guards poems in WOJ without any EOJ features
involved, it would be a mystery why he would choose to translate some poems,
but leave others in the original language. A much simpler solution would be (c)
if the 'Border guards commander' had just recorded these poems or collected
them as they were - representing various classes of his contemporary society in
the Eastern Provinces - starting with peasants and ending with provincial
nobility. This solution also accounts much better for the distribution of poems in
EOJ or WOJ between the identified and unidentified sections: almost half of the
14 MAN'YQSHO
poems (forty-one) in the identified section are in WOJ, and a little more than a
third (fifty-six) in the unidentified section.
(2) Here 1 am going to present a very unorthodox hypothesis, claiming that the
'Border guards commander' could actually have been either the original
compiler or a scribe responsible for the Ur-text of both Man 'yoshU books
fourteen and fifteen. At the present time, there are three pieces of evidence
pointing to this possibility.
(a) As 1 have previously pointed out, it is a mystery why book fifteen, while
preserving so many important grammatical forms, is practically useless for the
phonological history of WOJ due to numerous misspellings that should not
occur in a book that has only a slightly worse history of transmission than book
five, and is just marginally less old (736-741 AD) than book five (724-733 AD)
(Vovin 2009c: 31, 20 II: I, 9), which is very conservative as far as WOJ
phonology is concerned. Now this mystery can be solved if it was a person from
Azuma who actually compiled or copied book fifteen, as this fact would
account for the numerous misspellings of ko and otsu syllables found in this
book. There are two kinds of evidence: linguistic, and philological that seem to
support the same hypothesis.
(b) As far as the linguistic evidence is concerned, it is difficult to understand
why book fifteen that includes only poems written by native speakerslwriters of
WOJ, also shows EOJ features on two occasions.
The first example concerns the usage of the EOJ interrogative pronoun aN-
'what, why', corresponding to WOJ nani 'id.' in 15.3639: aN-to [o]mop-e ka
'what [I] was thinking about?': we would expect nan; to [o]mop-e ka in WOJ
instead. This is the only example when aN- occurs in WOJ and not EOJ corpus.
The second case is represented by OJ rna 'after' < Ainu mak 'behind, after'
found in 15.3769: ap-aNs-u rna n-i s-i-te 'after [I] did not meet [him)', a poem
composed by a lower-class court lady in the capital of Nara, but we would not
expect her to use Ainu loanwords, like a woman from the Eastern provinces
might have done. Consequently, only a person from Azuma could introduce
Ainu elements subconsciously into the text that he was compiling or copying.
(c) From the philological view point, there is potentially a graphic
commonality between books fourteen and fifteen. The two most spectacular
cases concern the man 'yogana graphs is for the syllable INtel and H for the
syllable INtol. is is the most frequent graph for INtel in book fourteen (ten
times), and it is second in frequency to the graph '7 in book fifteen (eight
times). In the rest of the Man 'yoshii, it appears four times in book two (in the
same poem 2.199), once in book five, once in book seventeen, and twice in
book sixteen, where it is used for the syllable Itel, and not INtel in the same
poem. Phonogram H for the syllable INtol appears thirty-seven times in book
fourteen (vs. the second frequent phonogram for the same syllable Il!f that is
attested only six times), forty times in book fifteen, three times in book five,
once each in books seventeen and eighteen, six times in book nineteen, and
twelve times in book twenty. In non-phonographic volumes of the Man 'yoshii it
appears twelve times in book twelve, and between zero and seven times in other
volumes. Another case that is very close is that of the man 'yogana phonogram
itl for the syllable INti/. It appears fifteen times in book fifteen, eleven times in
book fourteen, eight times each in books seventeen and twenty, and six times in
book eighteen. All other books of the Man 'yoshii have between zero and two
attestations of this phonogram.
BOOK FOURTEEN 15
Less obvious cases, but nevertheless suggestive, are the man 'yogana graphs
~ for the syllable Ipel and ~ for the syllable lri/. ~ is the only phonogram for
this syllable in book fourteen, but it is also a predominant graph for the same
syllable in books fifteen, seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen, and it is the second
commonest after ~ in book twenty. The phonogram ~ is more complex, as it
has to be analyzed in comparison with two other common Man 'yoshu
phonograms for the syllable lri/: flJ and JJI!, which all present a three-way split
in graphemics. I present the comparisons between all aforementioned
phonograms in the chart below, which is based only on the evidence found in
the predominantly phonographic books of the Man 'yoshu, such as books five,
fourteen, fifteen, seventeen, eighteen, and twenty.
Iril
I book 17 20
lril
I book 18 26
Iril
I book 20 40
Jm lril book 5 15
Jm Iril book 14 8
Jm Iril book 15 9
Jm Iril book 17 19
Jm Iril book 18 16
Jm Iri! book 20 23
It appears that the clear-cut cases, such as the usage for phonograms Nti, Nte,
and Nto can speak clearly in favor of the graphic commonality between books
fourteen and fifteen. With the less clear-cut cases, like the usage of the
man 'yogana phonograms for syllables Ipel or Iril one can speculate that the
'Border guards commander' might have been influenced by Opotomo-no
Yakamoti's writing style, or his calligraphy, but this conclusion must be put on
the back burner until a much more detailed study on the script of book fourteen
in comparison with other books of the Man 'yoshu is done, which is the subject
of future research. This conclusion will depend on two important issues. First,
ideally, one has to demonstrate the additional positive graphic commonalities
between books fourteen and fifteen. Second, no less important proof rests on
our ability to find the negative graphic evidence between these two books, or, in
other words to demonstrate that certain Man 'yoshu phonograms are never used
in these two books alone. This is, no doubt, a much more complex task, but
before it is completed, the hypothesis presented here can never become a theory.
Since this translation is obviously not the proper place to explore this issue
further, I will leave it as it is, assigning it either to future research of my own, or
to the future generation of scholars.
Transcri tion
a
u ")
e .:z.
BOOK FOURTEEN 17
o .to
ka tp
~[kani] ~
kl
kI 2 We
ku
ke
ke 2
ko ~ 1
ka "..
~2
Nka
Nkr
Nku
Nke
Nko
Nka
sa
si t...,
su
se it
18 MAN'yOSHU
so -t- j
so -t-2
Nsa
Nsi
Nsu
Nse
Nso
Nso
ta
ti
tu "'J
te -C
to
to 2
Nta
Nti
Ntu
Nte
Nto
NtO
na
m t.:
nu
13 The phonogram MZ as a sign for INsot is attested only in the Man'yoshii (Omodaka et al. 1967:
896). However, it appears as a phonogram in the Man 'yoshii just once, in the word kfNs6 (13zMZ)
'last night' (MYS 2.150). This is the only phonographic attestation of this word in the Western
Old Japanese part of the Man 'yoshii. Interestingly enough, Omodaka et al. transcribe this word in
the same poem as kfs6 in the entry on kfs6 'last night' (1967: 241). In addition, the same word is
attested in Eastern Old Japanese four times in 14.3505, 14.3522, 14.3550, and 14.3563 written as
13ztt /kisol with a voiceless lsi. Thus, I believe that the phonogram ~ was read Isol and I think
that this word should be read as kfs6 in Western Old Japanese as well.
BOOK FOURTEEN 19
ne
no (1)1
no (1)2
pa Ii
pi 0 1
pi O 2
pu ~
pe ""1
pe ""2
po I~ fL pp
mi J-.;-1
mu
me 11)1
me 11) 2
me
mo
mo
20 MAN'V0SHU
ya
yu ~
ye .:zz
yo
yo
ra
~ [ramu] J[ [ramu] Hit [rapu] ~
n f)
ru Q
re
ro 0
ro 0
wa
WI ~
we 2,.
wo
The second independent piece of evidence can only come from a linguistics
source at this point, namely, does a given poem exhibit the same linguistic
features that are attested for the same geographical variety of EOJ in other
poems of books fourteen or twenty? In some cases we will be able to prove this
point, but there are two obvious problems: (a) some poems from the list above
are in WOJ, and (b) others are from the provinces like Apa, PiNta (or KaNka),
or Kapi" that are not otherwise attested in the extant identified EOJ corpus. I
apply the same solution for these two cases: both the poems in WOJ and the
poems in EOJ from the provinces that are not otherwise represented in the
identified section of books fourteen or twenty are excluded from further
consideration, because it is not possible to prove that poems in EOJ have the
EOJ linguistic features coming from a certain province. Therefore, the list
above can be reduced to the following list, excluding WOJ poems as well as
EOJ poems that come from the provinces that have EOJ features that cannot be
geographically identified:
The next step will be to determine whether these poems really share the
linguistic features of their tentative provinces in Azuma.
Consequently, only six poems among unidentified poems could have been
assigned to certain provinces using both geographical and linguistic criteria.
The result may seem rather dismal, but I believe that this is better than nothing.
BOOK FOURTEEN 23
and the first three lines in kana transliteration, because it is found before the
next big lacuna in the text starting with 3506. Poem 3532 preserves only kana
transliteration, but not the original man 'yogana, because the latter was
apparently on the same leaf as missing 3531. Poem 3554 has only the original
man 'yogana, because kana transliteration must have been on the same leaf with
next 3555, which is missing. In poem 3567 the first three lines and the first
character from line four in the original man 'yogana are missing, because they
apparently were on the same leaf as the preceding 3566, which is missing as
well. Poem 3575 preserves only kana transliteration, but not the original
man 'yogana, because it must have been on the same leaf as the preceding 3574,
which is missing. The only apparent exception is the lack of the kana
transliteration for the poem 3419, but this is due to the fact that this poem was
already incomprehensible by the end of the Heian period.
Thus, the copyist of book fourteen in the Genryaku kohon apparently made
no effort to make any editorial changes. Although he could not possibly
reconstruct missing text in the original man 'yogana, unless he was in
possession of other Man 'yoshii manuscripts rather than just the damaged Ur-
manuscript of book fourteen that was in front of him, he certainly could have
added missing kana transliteration. Instead, as I mentioned above, he just chose
to copy mechanically what was in front of him. Eventually, this has proved to
be a better outcome as far as the preservation of the original text is concerned.
MAN'YOSHU
BOOK FOURTEEN
.~14
Eastern poems
*Jt
(1)
.Original text
14.3348 (W)IS
Romanization
(1) natu-so-N-pik-u (2) Unakami-N-kata-no (3) oki-tu SU-ni (4) pune pa
toNtome-m-u (5) sa-yo puke-n-i-ker-i
Translation
(4) Let us stop the boat (3) at the sand bank in the offing (2) [across] from the
tideland at Unakami (1) 'that [they] pull like summer hemp' (makura-kotoba).
(5) The night has deepened!
Commentary
This poem is from the Kamitupusa (J:¥e) province. However, the poem does
not have any typical EOJ features, and what is even more interesting it
faithfully preserves WOJ vocalism.
Natu-so-N-pfk-u is a permanent epithet (makura-kotoba, tt ~Ii]) that is
attached to the words una- 'sea' (three times) and in6ti 'life' (once). The
placename Unakami apparently consists of una- 'sea' and kami 'top'. Natu-so-
N-pik-u is attested in three other poems in the Man 'yoshU: 7.1176, 13.3255, and
14.3381. It is not quite clear what pulling of summer hemp has to do with 'sea'
or 'life'. Quite possibly, this makura-kotoba is not transparent at all, and its
traditional analysis as consisting of natu 'summer', so 'hemp', and pik- 'to pull'
14 Among the early manuscripts (pre-Muromachi) the character 3~ for 'song, poem' in the Nishi-
Honganji bon and the Hosoi-bon, while the character W\ is found only in the Kishi/-bon. In spite
of the fact that the majority of the later manuscripts follow the Kishi/-bon in that respect, I
decided to rely on the evidence from the majority of the older manuscripts.
15 Capital W in parentheses after a poem number indicates that this poem is written in Western
Old Japanese, and capital E that this poem is in Eastern Old Japanese.
26 MAN'V0SHO
represents no more than a folk etymology. On una- 'sea' see the commentary to
15.3592, and on inoti 'life' see the commentary to 5.886.
WOJ -so is usually translated as 'hemp', although Omodaka et al. suggest
that it might have been a cover term for both asa 'hemp' and wo 'ramie' as well
as for the other plants from which fibers could be taken (1967: 396). In contrast
to asa, -so 'hemp' occurs only as a second element in a compound. WOJ asa
'hemp' is likely to be a loanword from Korean, for details see Vovin (2010:
173-74). On asa 'hemp' and wo 'ramie' see also the commentary to 5.892.
Unakami tideland corresponds to present-day Miwa town in Ichihara city in
Chiba prefecture (Omodaka 1977.14: 8).
On OJ kata 'sea bed, tideland' see the commentary to 15.3595. Tideland is a
part of the sea shore that is covered by water during the high tide and left
exposed during the low tide.
As Mizushima notes, the boat mentioned here is likely to be a boat on which
an official travels, and not a fisherman's boat (1986: 20).
Translation
The poem above is from Kamitupusa province.
Commentary
Kamitupusa (1:. ~) province was located in the central part of present-day
Chiba prefecture. Kamitupusa was one of the Great Provinces under the
Ritsuryo code. On the Ritsuryo code classification of YamatO provinces see the
commentary to 5.818.
*X . Original text
14.3349 (E)
(1) j]DR}~,JJDJJ (2) *~1m~ ~*.3f (3) ~q:~~tfJ\1m (4) ~~9H:~f~fIJR
(5)~~~fI)~,'G',PJ:
Romanization
(1) KaNtusika-no (2) mama-no ura ml-wo (3) koNk-u pune-no (4) puna-N-pito
sawak-u (5) nami tat-urasi-mo
Translation
(4) Boatmen (3) from the boat that rows (2) along the circumference of the
cliffs at the bay (1) in KaNtusika (4) are making noise. (5) Waves seem to rise!
BOOK FOURTEEN 27
Commentary
This poem is from Simotupusa CfW) province. The poem does not have any
typical phonological or morphological EOJ features, and what is even more
interesting it faithfully preserves WOJ vocalism. However, it is possible to
claim on lexical grounds that this poem is in EOJ, and not WOJ, because it has
the EOJ word mama 'cliff, not attested in WOJ.
KaNtusika (alternatively read as Katusika by some commentators) area is
located in the vicinity of present-day Edogawa river on the border of Tokyo
Metropolitan Area and Chiba prefecture (Ito et al. 1981: 310), (Nakanishi 1985:
436). This placename is ~pparently meaningless in Japanese, as the
semantographic spellings like ~J.l 'winning deer', Jm!J'±Jm 'winning male deer',
:f;~$ 'vine decoration' are nothing more than ateji (~-C:f:). This placename
appears five times in book fourteen of the Man 'ypshU spelled phonographically
as JJD _'iI)(stJJD lkaNtusika/ (three times) or JJD1ll51~,JJD Ikatusika/ (two times).
However, since om /tu/ could be potentially (although seldom) used in the
man 'y6gana type A to write INtu/, the phonogram R INtu/ is not used in the
Man 'y6shu to write /tu/ except in six cases out of 169 (5.807, 11.2353a,
17.3985, 20.4340, 20.4342, 20.4346). Among these six cases, the last three
(20.4340, 20.4342, 20.4346) belong to EOJ, and the three cases belonging to
WOJ are confined to the same word wotutu/ututu 'reality,' which shows
alternative spellings ututu/wotutu/woNtutu/wotuNtu. Consequently, the reading
KaNtusika with INtu/ must be preferred. 16 Therefore, I think that KaNtusika <
*Kantusika has Ainu provenance: ka-n-toska < *ka-ne-toska top-COP-low.cliffs
'low cliffs that are above' (Chiri 1956: 42, 133), with expected raising of *0 to
u. Nakanishi indicates that the governor's office in Simotupusa province was
located on the top of cliffs (1981: 241), and this lends further credibility to the
interpretation of this placename (see the entry on mama below).
Mama is believed to be a word for 'cliff (Omodaka et al. 1967: 689), and it
is probably an EOJ word: it occurs in both EOJ and WOJ texts, but in both it
almost always follows the EOJ placename KaNtusika or is used in a poem
where KaNtusika is otherwise mentioned. This triggers a reasonable doubt as to
whether mama is really a 'cliff or simply a placename. Consequently, if this is
the placename, lines one and two of the poem have to be translated as (2) along
the circumference of the bay in Mama (1) at KaNtusika. There are, however,
two exceptions to the close connection of mama with KaNtusika: first, it also
appears in a different context in 10.2288, but this poem is otherwise written in
semantographic script and may have an alternative interpretation. Much more
important is the evidence found in 14.3369, where mama occurs after the EOJ
placename AsiNkari. Moreover, the existence of the word mama 'cliff not only
in modern dialects of Gunma, Niigata, Nagano, and Shizuoka prefectures
(Omodaka et al. 1967: 690), but most importantly also in all Hachijo dialects
(Yamada 2010: 100-101) makes the placename interpretation much less realistic.
In any case, it appears that either Mama or cliffs of KaNtusika were in the
vicinity ofSimotupusa's governor's office (Nakanishi 1981: 241).
On the controversy of reading '¥.&* as ura mY 'circumference of the bay'
see the commentary to 15.3627.
16 Cf. also discussion in Kupchik (2011: 130), who also added a WOJ case of ~:R~.$ Mi-Nt-
uram-u 'see-PERF-TENT2-ATTR', a misspelling for mi-t-uram-u. I express my gratitude to John
Kupchik for directing my attention to this poem, as well as for his corrections of some of the
previously incorrectly cited numbers in the draft of manuscript.
28 MAN'YOsHO
Translation
The poem above is from Simotupusa province.
Commentary
Simotupusa (T¥€') province was located in the northern part of present-day
Chiba prefecture. Simotupusa was one of the Great Provinces under the
Ritsuryo code. On the Ritsuryo code classification of YamatO provinces see the
commentary to 5.818.
14.3350 (W)
*:>c . Original text
(I) J;t.rBttfJ\JJ (2) /j\ltJlrBti#Wzfm (3) ~ft~rBt~tLtt (4) {~~~~*,~,~
(5) ~~/j\~*,~,£3:
Romanization
(I) Tukupa ne-no (2) nipi-N-kupa mayo-no (3) kinu pa ar-e-Nto (4) kimi-Nka
mi-kes-i si (5) aya n-i ki-posi-mo
Translation
(3) Although [I] have the garment (2) made of cocoons of new silkworms (I)
from Mt. Tukupa peak, (4/5) strangely, [I] want to wear [my] lord's garment!
Commentary
This poem is from Pitati (-m~~) province. However, the poem does not have any
typical Eastern Old Japanese features, and what is even more interesting it
faithfully preserves Western Old Japanese vocalism.
Mt. Tukupa, MdJ Tukuba « Tukupa, with a secondary nasalization/voicing)
is a mountain located in the South-West of present-day Ibaraki prefecture
(Tukuba district) (Nakanishi 1985: 464). It is 876 m high, and has two peaks:
male in the west and female in the east. In ancient times the higher Western
male peak was considered sacred and was off-limits. The smaller Eastern
female peak, on the other hand, is famous for being one of the renowned places
BOOK FOURTEEN 29
for utaNkakf (EOJ kaNkapf) 17 orgies when the members of the opposite sex
were allowed to indulge in unrestricted sexual interaction regardless of their
marriage statUs. Like KaNtusika in the previous poem, Mt. Tukupa cannot be
interpreted as a Japanese placename, and its likely provenance is again Ainu:
Ainu tuk 'small mountain' + pa 'head, top', which is 'small mountain top'
(Chiri 1956: 85, 134). At 876 m Tukupa is really a 'small mountain' by
Japanese standards. The suggested Ainu form *Tukpa certainly contributed to
the reflexes of both Ainu -k- and -p- as voiceless OJ -k- and -p-, rather than
prenasalized -Nk- and -Np-, normal OJ reflexes of Ainu intervocalic -k- [-G-]
and -p- [-B-] (Vovin 2009b: 9-10).
OJ nipf 'new' is an inflected adjective. As Ryiikyiian reflexes demonstrate,
cf., e.g. Nase mf-, Hentona mf-, Isigaki mii"-, etc. (Hirayama 1966: 425), the
proto-Japonic form was *mipi.
Note OJ mayo 'cocoon' that still preserves the 10/, which was raised to lui in
MJ mayu. Cf. 11.2495, where mayo 'cocoon' is spelled with the character )§
'eyebrow' that has clearly reading mayo, and not mayu in Old Japanese
(Omodaka et al. 1967: 691).
The symbolism of wearing one's beloved clothes implies the desire of
obtaining one's partner's love or affection (Mizushima 1986: 25).
Translation
This poem in one book has taratine-no [in the first line], and another [book] has
amata kfposimo [in the last line].
Commentary
These are apparently the variants of 14.3350 that will be presented below as
14.3350a and 14.3350b.
Romanization
(1) taratine-no (2) nipi-N-kupa mayo-no (3) kinu pa ar-e-NtO (4) kimi-Nka mi-
kes-i si (5) aya n-i ki-posi-mo
17 Much more detailed information will be provided in the commentary to MYS 9.1759.
30 MAN'Y0SHO
Translation
(3) Although [I] have the gannent (2) [made] from cocoons of new silkwonns
(1) by [my mother], (4/5) strangely, [I] want to wear [my] lord's gannent!
Commentary
Taratine, taratisi, and taratisiya are the pennanent epithets (makura-kotoba, tt
~Pj) for the word papa 'mother', see also 5.886, 5.887, and 15.3688. In this
particular poem the word papa 'mother' is not used, so its pennanent epithet
fulfills its function, with the word papa 'mother' being implied.
For the rest see the commentary to 14.3350.
Romanization
(1) Tukupa ne-no (2) nipi-N-kupa mayo-no (3) kinu pa ar-e-Nto (4) kimi-Nka
rni-kes-i si (5) amata ki-posi-mo
Translation
(3) Although [I] have the gannent (2) made of cocoons of new silkwonns (1)
from Tukupa peak, (4/5) [I] am so eager to wear [my] lord's gannent!
Commentary
WOJ amata 'many' is used in this context to indicate the extreme state of
eagerness of the author to wear the clothes of her beloved (Mizushima 1986:
25).
For the rest see the commentary to 14.3350.
BOOK FOURTEEN 31
Romanization
(1) Tukupa ne-ni (2) yuki kamo pur-ar-u (3) ina wo kamo (4) kanasi-ki KG-ro-
Nka (5) nino pos-ar-u kamo
Translation
(2) [I] wonder whether snow is falling (1) at Tukupa peak. (3) [I] wonder
whether it is so or not. (4/5) [And I] wonder whether [my] dear girl is drying
cloth.
Commentary
On Mt. Tukupa, see the commentary to 14.3350.
This poem is clearly written in the EOJ dialect, since it has twice typical
Eastern progressive forms in -ar-: pur-ar-u 'is falling' and pos-ar-u 'is drying'.
The corresponding WOJ forms are pur-er-u and pos-er-u. Both sets of forms
derive from the analytical construction *VERBAL.ROOT-i ar-
'VERBAL.ROOT-INF exist-', but with different outcomes in EOJ and WOJ:
while EOJ contracts the vowel cluster *ia into la!, WOJ monophthongizes it into
vowel lei (neutralized as lei after coronals). For more details see Vovin (2009a:
880-92). Another piece of evidence for theEOJ nature ofthis poem involves the
word nino 'cloth' (see below).
OJ ina 'no' and wo 'yes' seem to be functionally close to modem Japanese
iie 'it is not so' and hai 'it is so', that is they are more likely to be the discourse
markers of disagreement/agreement with a preceding statement rather than
straightforward 'no' and 'yes'. This is further confirmed by the semantographic
spelling of wo with the Chinese character ~ 'agreement' (16.3796, 16.3798).
Although there are several examples of ina 'no' attested in phonographic
spelling in WOJ (Omodaka et al. 1967: 86-87), in addition to the only EOJ
example in this poem, it appears that wo 'yes' is attested phonographically in
WOJ also only once in 11.2539.
Diminutive suffix -ro occurs predominantly in EOJ, with only two examples
in WOJ. Once it appears as me-ro 'mesh-DIM' (NK 3), apparently a hapax
legomenon. The other case, yo-ro 'night-DIM' is attested in FK 3, which is a
poem from Pitati province as well, but similarly to 14.3388 it has no other EOJ
distinctive features other than the diminutive suffix -roo In addition, -ro is not
attested in WOJ after the word se 'elder brother, beloved'. For details see Vovin
(2005: 210-12).
EOJ nino 'cloth' is considered to be an Eastern dialect form of WOJ nuno
'id.' The only slight problem here is that WOJ *nuno is not attested in the
phonographic script, although the attestations of MJ nuno 'id.' are plenty
(Miyajima 1971: 224), (Saeki & Mabuchi 1969: 677). However, since only ko-
rui 101, and not otsu-rui 101 could be found in the same morpheme with lui, the
reconstruction ofWOJ archetype as *nuno seems to be justified (Omodaka et al.
32 MAN'YQSHU
1967: 554). EOJ nino - WOJ *nuno was a rough quality cloth (as compared to a
silk cloth) that was made from fibers of hemp, ramie, and other similar plants.
Commentary
The territory of Pitati (1t~~) province almost exactly corresponds to present-
day Ibaraki prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 478). Pitati was one of the Great
Provinces under the Ritsuryo code. On the Ritsuryo code classification of
YamatO provinces see the commentary to 5.818.
The variants of 14.3350 are apparently not counted as separate poems.
14.3352 (W)
*X . Original text
(1) 1§"ilt*mE (2) ~Jift~* .&fm7J\ (3) {IF:1t~fi~Ji (4) *~~q:~1t~iBt (5) 1t
1t~~7J\*m
Romanization
(1) Sinanu-n-ar-u (2) SuNka-no ara no-ni (3) pototoNkisu (4) nak-u kowe kik-e-
Npa (5) toki suNld-n-i-ker-i
Translation
(4) When [I] heard the crying voice (3) [of] a cuckoo (2) in the wild SuNka
field (1) that is in Sinanu, (5) [I] have suddenly realized that the time has passed.
Commentary
This poem is from Sinanu (1§"ilt) province. However, the poem does not have
any typical EOJ features, and what is even more interesting it faithfully
preserves WOJ, with only one misspelling, which may not be attributable to
EOJ.
Sinanu (1§" iAl) province corresponds to present-day Nagano prefecture
(Nakanishi 1985: 452). Sinanu was one of the Upper Provinces under Ritsuryo
code. On the Ritsuryo code classification of YamatO provinces see the
commentary to 5.818. The majority of the Man'yoshu scholars read the name of
this province as Sinano (Takagi et al. 1959: 409), (Kubota 1967: 139),
BOOK FOURTEEN 33
(Omodaka 1977.14: 15), (Nakanishi 1981: 242), (Mizushima 1986: 29), (Ito
1997: 278), and (Satake et al. 2002: 309). The dissenting voices are those of
Kojima et al. (1973: 446), Tsuchiya (1977.7: 203), and Kinoshita (2001). In
spite of the fact that the placename Sinano is amply attested from the Heian
period onward, I agree with the minority point of view here, because the
character iJJ! was used in OJ to write only the syllable Inul, and never the
syllable Inol (Omodaka et al. 1967: 898). The fact that some Man 'yoshu
manuscripts gloss the last syllable with the kana sign for no is irrelevant,
l'
because they come at the earliest from the late Heian period (such as Ruiju
koshU) or from the Kamakura period {such as Nishi Honganji-bon), and starting
from the Heian period kana sign tt < is used for the syllable Inol, and not
Inul. The place name Sinanu can be explained in OJ only as sin-an-u die-NEG-
ATTR 'one who does not die', which is an unlikely explanation for a placename.
I believe that Sinanu has Ainu origin: sinam « sir-nam) 'to be cold' + nup
'mountain field' 18 that is 'cold mountain fields.' The final consonant -p of nup
'field' is expected to be lost in early loans into Japanese. An alternative analysis
might be si- 'true' + nam 'to be cold' + nup 'mountain field' 'truly cold
mountain fields.' One problem with this analysis is that Ainu nam by itself
means 'to be cold to the touch', like MdJ tumetai. However, Sakhalin Ainu
sinam « sir-nam 'wheather-be.cold') means both 'to be cold to the touch' and
'to be cold' (Otsuka et al. 2008: 156), thus I prefer the first analysis. If this
etymology is correct, then MJ Sinano in all probability represents a partial
translation of the placename Sinanu, where nu 'field' < Ainu nup was replaced
by MJ no 'field'.
WOJ n-ar- 'to be located at' is a contraction of the locative case marker -ni
and the verb ar- 'to exist.'
The exact location of SuNka field in Nagano prefecture is not known.
According to one hypothesis it was in the western part of Matsumoto city (t.&*
rtf), and according to another in Sugahira (~¥) area of Sanada town (~ffi lIlT)
in Chiisagata county (/J\J)f!,m) (Nakanishi 1985: 454). Mizushima mentions the
same hypotheses and adds also the third one: Sugamura village (~H) in the
western part of Tsukama county O=Jt.=m), mentioning along the way that there
are other theories as well (1986: 29).
All early extant manuscripts have ~.& filg ara no 'wild field', with the word
for field spelled with otsu-rui fJlg no, although the etymologically correct
spelling is with a ko-rui no (Mizushima 1984a: 34-36). Some modern
commentators 'corrected' the text by replacing filg with the character !I!f 'field',
(Ito 1997: 278), (Satake 2002: 309), (Kinoshita 2001), but the grounds for such
rewriting are, of course, non-existent. Therefore, I followed the original text.
Since otsu-rui fj~ no is found in all early extant manuscripts and because this
poem is in WOJ, it probably represents an early misspelling introduced by
Heian period copyist(s).
OnpototoNkfsu 'cuckoo' and its symbolism see the commentary to 15.3754.
There is a minor textual graphic discrepancy between various manuscripts:
the gerund -Npa in the word kfk-e-Npa 'when [I] heard' is written either 7El or
ft. Following Mizushima (1984a: 34), I adopt iBl in my edition, because among
old m~nuscripts it appears in both the Ruiju koshu and the Nishi Honganji-bon,
while ft is attested only in the KishU-bon.
18 Chiri indicates that in Ainu placenames nup may mean both 'field' and 'mountain field' (1956:
69).
34 MAN'YQSHO
The problem of interpretation of the phrase loki suNki"-n-i-ker-i 'the time has
passed' lies with the word loki 'time'. What kind of time is meant here?
Mizushima mentions the following explanations: (a) time to return to the capital,
(b) time for a husband to return home, (c) time to meet with a beloved, (d) time
of farming or time for planting rice fields, (e) simply time or season; and he
himself is inclined to follow the last explanation (1986: 30-31). However, given
the fact that this poem is written in perfect WOJ, it is unlikely that the author
would be a local Sinanu woman waiting for her husband or a farmer. Thus, (b),
(c), and (d) in my opinion should be excluded. Given the symbolic nature of
cuckoo's cry as a symbol of longing for one's beloved, it is most likely that we
should exclude (e) as well. This leaves us with (a), and given the WOJ language
of the poem, the author most likely is an official returning to the capital where
he left his beloved wife.
Translation
The poem above is from Sinanu province.
Commentary
On Sinanu (1§"i't) province see the commentary to 14.3352.
talJa
Relationship poems
Translation
(4) [I] could not go away (3) making you stand [and wait] (2) in KiNpe forest (1)
in Aratama. (5) Let us first arrange for [us] sleeping [together].
BOOK FOURTEEN 35
Commentary
This poem is from the Topotuapuml (itiI) province. This poem does not have
any typical Eastern Old Japanese features, and what is even more interesting it
faithfully preserves Western Old Japanese vocalism, without a single
misspelling, so typical for normal Eastern Old Japanese texts. On Topotuapuml
province see the commentary to the postscript to the poems 14.3353-3354.
~atama (~::E) was one of the districts of. Topotu~uml.province. Its
terntory corresponds to the area along the Tenryii nver (Je Il!J II) m present-day
Hamakita city UJii~tm) in Shizuoka prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 420).
KiNpe is another bothersome placename (cf. commentaries on KaNtusika in
14.3349 and Sinanu in 14.3352) that has no universal agreement on its reading:
the majority of commentators, old and modern, prefer to read it as Kipe, while
the minority insists on KiNJ'e (Mizushima 1984a: 37). In book fourteen it
appears twice spelled as 1~1p (this poem and 14.3354), which does not throw
any light on its correct reading, since the man 'yogana sign {if can stand for
either Ipel or /Npel (Omodaka et aI. 1967: 900). There is another spelling of the
same placename, -T? found in 11.2530. According to Omodaka et aI., ? can
stand only for Ipel (1967: 900), but we should not forget that ? also is used as
-Npe < *-no-pe for 'GEN-clan' or 'GEN-corporation' in historical texts and
mokkan. Therefore, the OJ script really does not provide a valid clue for a
solution one way or another. Similar to the cases of KaNtusika and Sinanu
mentioned above, Kipe or KiNpe seems to be meaningless in Japanese. Not so
in Ainu, where KiNpe (but not Kipe) has a perfect explanation: Ainu kimpe
'bear' « kim-pe 'mountain thing') (Kayano 1996: 209). Thus, KfNpe-n6 payasi
is a 'bear forest' - the most unlikely place for the author to let his beloved stand
alone! An alternative interpretation of KiNpe in Ainu may be kim 'mountain' +
pet 'river'. On the loss of fmal Ainu consonants in early Ainu loans to Japanese
see the commentary to 14.3352 above and Vovin (2009b: 12).
fE"6 yuk-i 'go-INF' in line four is spelled as fEfZ in the Nishi Honganji-
bon and the Kishu-bon among the oldest manuscripts. I follow here the script in
the Ruiju koshu, which is the oldest extant manuscript where this poem appears.
Certainly, this is a very minor point, because it does not affect the analysis of
the text.
Line five has a grammatical problem: i 'sleep' is followed by the accusative
case marker -wo, but the verb tat- 'be arranged' is formally intransitive, its
transitive pair being tate-. However, Omodaka et al. note that tat- is used in the
Man 'yoshu as a quasi-transitive with the compound u-kapa 'river where the
cormorant fishing is conducted' (1967: 427). Thus, the usage of tat- as a quasi-
transitive verb with i 'sleep' in this poem also appears to be exceptional,
although it is not mentioned in the existing literature.
Although there is considerable disagreement about the situation under which
this poem is composed between modern and pre-modern Japanese scholars, they
seem generally to agree as far as the meaning of the text itself is concerned
(Omodaka 1977.14: 19-22), (Mizushima 1986: 33-36). In the absence of any
other different clues rather than the poem itself, any attempt to determine the
situation surrounding it is going to be speculative in my opinion, so I will not go
into this discussion. Pierson completely misunderstood the meaning of this
poem as follows from his translation: "In the woods near Kive in Aratama,
having placed yourself, I may not be able to come, so please go home, before
me and sleep!" (1961.14: 8).
36 MAN'YQSHU
Romanization
(1) KINpe pltO-no (2) maNtara-N-pusuma-ni (3) wata sapaNta (4) ir-i-n-amasi
mono (5) imo-Nka woN-tOko-ni
Translation
(4) Although [I] would [like to] enter (5) the bed of[my] beloved (3/4) [like]
the cotton that is plentifully placed inside (2) the multicolor painted [bedding]
covers (1) of people from KINpe, (4) but ...
Commentary
This poem is from Topotuapuml ()iiI) province. This poem does not have any
typical Eastern Old Japanese phonetic or morphological features, but the word
sapaNta 'many' is clearly EOJ, since its WOJ cognate is sapa 'id.' Therefore, ]
classify this poem as EOJ on a pure lexical basis. EOJ sapaNta 'many' also
occurs in 14.3395. On Topotuapumi province see the commentary to the
postscript to the poems 14.3353-3354.
On the placename KlNpe see the commentary to 14.3353.
On OJ pusuma 'cover' see the commentary to 15.3587.
On wata 'cotton' see the commentary to 5.892.
The verb ir- 'to enter, to be placed inside' has a double meaning in this poem:
it refers to both cotton being placed inside the bedding covers, as well as to the
male protagonist going inside the bed of his female beloved.
The diminutive prefix woN- has the endearment function in this poem: it is
the 'dear bed,' and not the 'small bed.'
Translation
Two poems above are from Topotuapuml province.
Commentary
Topotuapuml ()iiI) province corresponds to the western part of present-day
Shizuoka prefecture (to the West ofOi river (*#)11)) (Nakanishi 1985: 467).
BOOK FOURTEEN 37
Topotuapumi province was one of the Upper Provinces under Ritsuryo code. On
the Ritsuryo code classification of Yamato provinces see the commentary to
5.818. The etymology of the placename Topotuapumi is transparent: topo
'distant' + tu, genitive-locative case marker + ap(a)-umf 'lake' (lit. 'fresh water
sea').
14.3355 (W)
*X . Original text
(1) *)$7]i££& (2) /F § ~:;;~~)~~)$ (3) B~~fL~ (4) ~1~E8i)fiJ~tli£
(5) ~iiJtli£~ PI £3:* &.$
f.OC~ O).~ T L- • Kana transliteration
(1) ittJ"1 0) 21i G (2) b CO) 2 Lli~"1 (3) ::. 20) 2 <nO) 2 (4) ~ 2~ 1 V¢"'J
. f) it I:f (5) ittJ lif'zp t 2ittJ Gt?
Romanization
(1) ama-no para (2) PuNsi-no siNpa yama (3) ko-no kure-no (4) toki y-utur-i-n-
aNpa (5) ap-aNs-u kamo ar-am-u
Translation
(3/4) When the time passes in the darkness [under] the trees (2) at the mountain
[covered with] brushwood [at the foot] of Mt. PuNsi (1 ) [that reaches into] the
Plain of Heaven, (5) [we] probably will not meet [again]!
Commentary
Ama-no para is considered to be a permanent epithet (makura-kotoba, tt~P]) for
Mt. PuNsi, and ama-no para PuNsi-no sinpa yama an introduction (jo, R:) for
the remainder of the poem (Takagi et al. 1959: 410), (Omodaka 1977.14: 23).
Mt. PuNsi (MdJ Fuji) is the highest mountain in Japan (3776 m) that
straddles the border between present-day Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures.
This placename cannot be explained through Japanese. The possible source is
again Ainu, although the etymology is not perfect: Ainu puni 'to raise [a heavy
thing' (root pun-, pun-i is a singular form, cf. plural form pun-pa) (ldutu 2006:
291-92) + Ainu sir, 'place, ground', 'mountain' (in compounds) (Chiri 1956:
122). We would expect 'rising mountain' for a placename like Fuji, but the verb
pun-i is transitive. However, cf. Ainu hopun-i (sing.) ~ hopun-pa (pi.) 'to fly'
that probably has the same root.
WOJ yutur- consists of prefix i- (> y- before the vowel lui) and the verb
utur- 'to pass' See also 4.623, 11.2670, and 11.2673. Prefix i- is a marker of a
directive-locative focus. For details see Vovin (2009a: 561-68).
On conditional -aNpa indicating temporal connection when followed by a
main verb containing tentative -(a)m- or negative tentative -(a)Nsi see the
commentary to 5.882, 15.3629 and for the details Vovin (2009a: 733-34).
38 MAN'Y0SHO
14.3356 (W)
*:>c . Original text
(1) ~mfmtfJiJJ (2) {jt~~f*~:ft13?: (3) ~M1ilSf-=8 (4) {jte:ft:t:m1ffg:~
(5) ~1]\~~5ts!z~
Translation
(5) [I] have come in less than a day (2/3) along an extremely distant and long
mountain road (1) [through] the peak of PuNsi, (4) because [as they] say [it
leads] to the [place] of [my] beloved.
Commentary
On Mt. PuNsi see the commentary to 14.3355.
OJ -Nkari is a directive case marker that is attested in both WOJ and EOJ,
but not in Classical Japanese. For details see Vovin (2005: 188-93).
The fifth line of this poem, ~1]\~~5ts!z~ is difficult to interpret and
consequently it is a point of disagreement among different Japanese scholars.
The major point of contention seems to be concerned with either the character
tEl that is attested in the Ruiju koshu and Kishu-bon or ~ character that is found
in the Nishi Honganji-bon and Hosoi-bon. From a modem scholarship view
point, however, this contention seems to be moot, since all of the Man 'yoshu is
written in the man 'yogana type A, where the distinction between initial Ipl (in
this case tEl) and I~I (in this case ~) is not maintained consistently. Most
Modem Japanese scholars tend to interpret 1]\~~5t in this line as nzvop-aNs-u
'[I] do not moan/groan' (Kubota 1967: 142), (Kojima et al. 1973: 447),
(Tsuchiya 1977.7: 208), (Mizushima 1986: 41-44), (Omodaka 1977.1425-26),
(Ito 1997: 290), (Satake et al. 2002: 311). This interpretation insists on the fact
that WOJ oyoNp- 'to reach' is not attested with its initial vowel reduced in WOJ
texts (Mizushima 1986: 43). But given the limited size of WOJ corpus, and
multiple cases of other vowel reductions, one of them right in this poem: to
ipeNpa > to [i}peNpa, this argument can be safely disregarded. Moreover, this
interpretation either leaves WOJ ~ Ikel stranded or compares it with WOJ iki
'breath' that Ikel cannot be a cognate of according to any sensible application of
the comparative method. There are, however, voices of reason that apparently
interpret ~~5t lyoNpaNsu/ as [o]yoNp-aNs-u: "I came in just few days"
(Takagi et al. 1959: 410), "I came in a less than a day" (Nakanishi 1981: 243).
Here I follow Nakanishi's interpretation.
BOOK FOURTEEN 39
14.3357 (W)
*Jt . Ori~inal text
(1) PJ~JHk~mE (2) 1fJH~fili~J#1im1]\ (3) fotlt~*~ (4) {jt R~ltt5i=j JJo
(5) {jt=§tIt**tPJ-$
Translation
(3) When I come (2) to the side of the Mt. PuNsi (1) where mists lie, (4) facing
what direction (5) would [my] beloved lament?
Commentary
On Mt. PuNsi see the commentary to 14.3355.
On WOJ pi" 'side' is a phonetic variant of a more frequent WOJ pe 'id.', see
the commentary to 15.3627. Although all extant manuscripts gloss the character
1im with kana letter .r--.. Ife/, I follow here the modem commentary tradition and
read it as I-N-p'i/, because the man 'yogana sign 1im does have the /Np'i/, but not
the Ipel phonetic value. For details see Mizushima (1984a: 44).
On conditional -aNpa indicating temporal connection when followed by a
main verb containing tentative -(a)m- or negative tentative -(a)Nsi see the
commentary to 5.882, 15.3629 and for the details Vovin (2009a: 733-34). Cf.
also 14.3355 above.
There is anoth~r discrepancy between the manuscripts: the last man 'yogana
sign in fotltft*~ Iwa-Nka k-i-n-aNpa/ 'when I come' is written among the
oldest manuscripts with ?3{ in the Ruijii koshii and with ~ in the Nishi
Honganji-bon, the KishU-bon, and the Hosoi-bon. I follow the last three
manuscripts here.
Mizushima tried to argue that both author and his beloved are at the foot of
Mt. PuNsi covered with mist (1986: 46), but this runs into an obvious difficulty
of trying to interpret verb ko- 'to come' as 'to go'. I believe that Nakanishi's
interpretation is much more straightforward: "When I come to foot ofMt. PuNsi
covered with mist, since my beloved cannot see my location, what direction she
will tum to, lamenting for me?" (1981: 244).
Poem 14.3474 has the identical lines four and five.
40 MAN'YGsHD
Romanization
(I) sa-n-ur-aku pa (2) tama-no WO Npakari (3) kop-ur-aku pa (4) PuNsi-no
taka ne-no (5) nar-u sapa-no Nkoto
Translation
(1) Sleeping together (2) [is short] as much as the cord ofjewels, (3) longing for
[you] (5) [is long] like the stream that rumbles (4) [from] the high peak of
PuNsi.
Commentary
On Mt. PuNsi see the commentary to 14.3355.
There is a significant disagreement regarding the meaning of WOJ sapa in
this poem. All old commentators, such as Sengaku, Keichil, Kamochi
Masazumi, and others maintain that this is the crater opening on the top of Mt.
PuNsi (MdJ Fuji), or a lake that used to be in this crater (Mizushima 1986: 49),
~Omoda~a 1977.l4~7). Omodaka p~inted, out that this is probably not tenable
III the lIght of fft R fllg ~ RJ t1]l fllg ~ mE f.:5:. iBZ INtu no taka ne-no nar-u sapa
'rumbling stream from the high peak of INtu' found in the variant 14.3358a
(1977.14: 27), where it cannot refer to either crater or lake, although the basis of
his conclusion is not quite comprehensible, since the highest mountain in lzu
peninsula is present-day Amagi-san (.~:9JX0J,1406 m), that is a volcano. See
also the commentary to l4.3358a below. It is unlikely that a lake existed in the
crater of Mt. PuNsi at the time when the poem was composed, as it is known
that in eighth and ninth centuries Mt. PuNsi was an active volcano, with
historically documented eruptions in 781, 800, and 864 AD. This poem
certainly predates 781 AD, but the possibility that Mt. PuNsi was a dormant
volcano like it is today and also with a lake inside is very slim. In addition, I do
not know of any other examples when WOJ sapa can refer to a crater, which is
normally designated as WOJ ana 'hole'.
The second point of view is that WOJ sapa indicates a stone avalanche that
goes down as a river (Takagi et al. 1959: 411), (Kubota 1967: 142), (Kojima et
al. 1973: 448). I see no evidence that would support this either. The third point
of view holds that WOJ sapa is just a 'mountain stream' (Tsuchiya 1977.7: 144),
(Satake et al. 2002: 311), (Mizushima 1986: 49). I follow this last point of view
in my interpretation. There is also a possibility that nar-u sapa includes a
reference to a placename Narusapa (Omodaka 1977.14: 27), (Nakanishi 1981:
244), (It6 1997: 293).
BOOK FOURTEEN 41
Commentary
We do not know what the book mentioned above is. The variant follows below
as 14.3358a.
14.3358a (W)
*Jt . Ori1Mnal text
(1) !ff?J~:~,~)2) fr~&~?&:,'i!!,*&~ (3) f;£~ &~?&: (4) fft R~$ PTtfJ;~
(5) ~mEf;£?&:~~J{-9-
Romanization
(1) ma-kanasi-mi (2) n-ur-aku pa s-i-ker-aku (3) sa-nar-aku pa (4) INtu-no taka
ne-no (5) nar-u sapa-nasu yo
Translation
(1) Because [she] is really dear to me, (2) [I] did sleep [with her]. (3) [But
people] are noisy [about it] (5) like the stream that rumbles (4) [from] the high
peak of INtu!
Commentary
Line two presents some problems in this poem. The topic particle ?&: Ipa! in
oldest manuscripts is present in the Ruijii koshii, the Nishi Honganji-bon, and
the Kishii-bon, but is absent in the Hosoi-bon iMizushima 1984a: 48-49). Its
eresence makes line two hypermetric (jiamari, +~ lJ ), but given the fact that
?&: Ipa! is present in the majority of oldest manuscripts as well as the fact that in
the process of copying it is much easier to omit a sign than to insert an
additional one, 1 use?&: Ipa! in my reconstruction of the Dr-text. In addition, a
syntactic argument can be made in this case for the necessity of?&: Ipal in line
two: it clearly contrasts with line three sa-nar-aku, and this calls for two topic
markers being used in the contrastive function, and not just one. Although in
WOJ the focus particle koso could be used instead of one of the pa ... pa to
express the contrast (Vovin 2009a: 1166), since koso is not present here, we can
safely assume that?&: Ipa! is really needed in line two for the grammaticality of
the poem.
42 MAN'YQSHO
The second problem in line two is concerned with the interpretation of ,~,~
.&R Isikerakul. There is a considerable disagreement between the Edo period
and modem commentators of the Man 'yi5shu as to how to interpret this form. If
we dismiss right away the misspellings explanations that are always attempts to
rewrite the text on the basis of a commentator's whim, we are basicall~/eft with
two competing hypotheses. One of them is inclined to interpret ,~, ~ .& R
Isikerakul as siNker-aku 'the fact that it is frequent' (lit.: 'the fact that it grows
thick'), in spite of the fact that siNker- has the otsu-rui syllable /Nke/, while the
text has the ki5-rui syllable ~ Ike! (Omodaka 1977.14: 28-29). Such a
misspelling would signal to us that the poem in question must be in EOJ, but
Kupchik has recently claimed that SuruNka (MdJ Suruga) province was more
likely not a EOJ linguistic territory (2011: 853). As we will see below in
14.3359 this is not necessarily the case, but as in many cases the truth may lie in
the middle: Suruga might have been a language contact area where WOJ and
EOJ dialects intermingled to a certain extent, although WOJ probably was the
dominant form. If this is the case, we should not automatically expect ~ Ike! to
be a misspelling of WOJ lNkel unless an alternative solution can be found. Such
an alternative solution is that ,~,~.& R Isikerakul represents s-i-ker-aku 'the
fact that [I] did' (Mizushima 1986: 50). This approach is much more consistent
both with the context and the general WOJ nature of the language of this poem,
so I adopt it in my interpretation and translation.
The nominalizer -aku follows the attributive form of verbs (except the past
form when it can follow either the final form -ki or the attributive -sO and
adjectives, but after consonantal verbs, r-irregular verbs, suffixes, and auxiliary
verbs ending in a consonant the attributive marker -u is lost before -aku, so
there might he a mistaken impression that it follows a root or a stem directly.
For details see Vovin (2009a: 763-775).
The high peak of INtu has been identified as modem Amagi-san (J(.liJXr1J),
Izu-san (1jlH..r1J), Higane-san (El ~r1J), or Fuji-san (1;±r1J) (Nakanishi 1981:
421). The latter version can be dismissed because Fuji-san (WOJ PuNsi) is not
in Izu CWOJ INtu) peninsula. The most likely solution is that it is Amagi-san,
the highest mountain (1406 m) in Izu peninsula. Izu-san (166 m) and Higane-
san (766 m) do not look as 'high peaks' in comparison to Amagi-san.
On WOJ sapa 'mountain stream' see the commentary to 14.3358 above.
OJ comparative case marker -nasu occurs in both Western Old Japanese and
Eastern Old Japanese (Vovin 2009a: 200).
Commentary
We do not know what the book mentioned above is. The variant follows below
as 14.3482b.
BOOK FOURTEEN 43
*X
(1)
. Original text
14.3358b (E)
~il])Il~&~~ (2) ~!#fi~-¥,~,*ili (3) 11:111 &t7-.~ (4) :111 § JJ~ PJtfJ\1J\
(5) :1I1mEfE{5(~~~
Romanization
(1) ap-er-aku pa (2) tama-no wo sik-e ya (3) kop-ur-aku pa (4) PuNsi-no taka
ne-ni (5) pur-u yuki-nasu mo
Translation
(1/2) Will the meetings [with you ever] reach [the length of such a short thing as]
the jewel cord? (3) [My] longing [for you] (4/5) is as [endless] as snow falling
on the high peak of PuNsi!
Commentary
This poem should probably be classified as EOJ rather than WOJ, although the
grounds for this classification are rather slim: the evidential form of the verb
sik- 'to reach' in WOJ should be sik-e with an otsu-rui lei, and not sik-e with a
k6-rui lei that is an imperative form in WOJ. The imperative sik-e 'reach!' does
not make any sense in this context. Therefore, we have to assume that the
evidential form sik-e was really meant in this case, and the merger of lei and lei
after velars is a feature typical for EOJ, and not WOJ. Still, this is the only EOJ
feature found in this poem, which otherwise looks perfectly WOJ, and it could
potentially be attributed to a scribal error made in the Heian period.
On Mt. PuNsi see the commentary to 14.3355.
Romanization
(1) SuruNka-no umi (2) osi-pe-ni op-uru (3) pama tuNtura (4) imasi-wo tanom-i
(5) papa-ni taNkap-i-n-u
44 MAN'yOsHD
Translation
(5) [I] went against [my] mother, (4) trusting you (3) like shore vines (2) that
grow at the rocky shore side (1) [of] SuruNka sea.
Commentarl
SuruNka (,~jt iiiJ, MdJ Suruga) province corresponds to the central part of
present-day Shizuoka prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 456). SuruNka was one of
the Upper Provinces under Ritsuryi5 code. On the Ritsuryi5 code classification of
YamatO provinces see the commentary to 5.818.
The first line is hypermetric (jiamari, *#;
~), but this is possibly just a
graphic illusion, since SuruNka-no umi was in all probability pronounced as
[SuruNkanumi] or [SuruNkanomi].
EOJ asi and asu (14.3385 19 ) 'rocky shore' correspond to WOJ iso 'rock,
rocky shore'. WOJ iso 'rock, rocky shore' is clearly etymologically connected
to OJ isi 'stone', which further complicates the reconstruction of the archetype.
1 have surveyed this etymological conundrum in Vovin (2010: 126-27). The
only other observation that 1 want to add at this point is that the PJ word for
'rock, rocky shore' was likely *eso and the PJ word for 'stone' was probably
*esoy (Vovin 2011 b: 224-25), although as the EOJ form asi < *esoy appearing
in this poem demonstrates, there also might be almost no difference between the
meaning 'rock, rocky shore' on one hand and 'stone' on the other, especially in
the light of the fact that 'rocky shore' appears to be a secondary development
from 'rock.'
WOJ pama tuNtura 'shore vine' cannot be identified with certainty.
Probably some vine, a creeper, or a climber growing on the seashore (Omodaka
1977.14: 31), (Mizushima 1986: 54). OJ tuNtura is a general term for vines or
creepers that grow in mountains or seashore. Their crawling branches that
extend from a root creep on the ground and attach themselves to other objects,
such as trees or rocks, by going around them. The word tutNtura is used in Old
Japanese poetry as a metaphor for love connection (Nakanishi 1985: 321).
The first three lines are a poetic introduction (ja, Pf) to the rest of the poem
(Mizushima 1986: 54).
14.3359a (E)
*::t
(1)
. Original text
,~iiiJlili'=P~
(2) M','i!!,~7]\:Jj~;{ffmE (3) iBlJ#ffLI:t..5t (4) {jtJ#,'i!!,~~Iili~
(5) :JjN~7]\~tIt.ltfrJ(
-fli~ Oy. ~ r
L- • Kana transliteration
(1) T 0 tJ~O) 2 5 J.;. I (2) :to L..-" 1 '~:tob 0 (3) 'j: ~ ·,::v:) e::, (4) v\ ~ L..-:a:- t::
0) 2 J.;. I (5) :to~,~ t:: tJ~ {} 1 Ib.
Romanization
(1) SuruNka-no umi (2) osi-pe-ni op-uru (3) pama tuNtura (4) imasi-wo tanom-i
(5) oya-ni taNkap-i-n-u
Translation
(5) [I] went against [my] parents, (4) trusting you (3) like shore vines (2) that
grow at the rocky shore side (1) [ot] SuruNka sea.
Commentary
The only difference between 14.3359 and 14.3359a is found in line five, and it
is completely lexical: papa 'mother' in 14.3359 vs. oya 'parent(s)' in 14.3359a.
Everything else is identical, so the commentary to 14.3359 applies as well to
14.3359a.
Commentary
Note that the variants of poems are not counted as separate poems, therefore the
postscript mentions only five poems instead on eight.
On SuruNka (~5t(RJ) province see the commentary to 14.3359.
Romanization
(1) INtu-no umi-ni (2) tat-u sira nami-no (3) ar-i-tutu rna (4) tuNk-i-n-am-u
manowo (5) miNtare-sime-m-e ya
Glossing with morphemic analysis
(1) INtu-GEN sea-LOC (2) rise-ATTR white wave-CaMP (3) exist-INF-COOR
PT (4) continue-INF-PERF-TENT-ATTR CONJ (5) be.confused-CAUS-
TENT-EVPT
46 MAN'YQSHU
Translation
(4) Although [I] would like to continue (3) [for two of us] being [together
eternally] (2) like the white waves rising [all the time] (1) in the INtu sea, (5)
[what] would make [my heart] confused? [- Nothing!]
Commentary
First line is hypermetric (jiamari, *~ VJ), but this is probably just a graphic
illusion, since INtu-no umi-ni was in all probability pronounced as [INtunomini]
or [INtunumini).
INtu province (and peninsula) corresponds to Izu peninsula in present-day
Shizuoka prefecture. INtu was one of the Middle Provinces under Ritsuryo code.
On the Ritsuryo code classification of YamatO provinces see the commentary to
5.818.
INtu-no umi 'sea of INtu' probably indicates the Pacific Ocean off the
Eastern shore of the INtu peninsula, and not a gulf between INtu and SuruNka
provinces (Mizushima 1986: 55).
It has been suggested that the causative -(a)sime- in line five may be in
reality the EOJ form of the verb some- 'to begin, to start' on the basis ofthe fact
that in the poem 14.3359 above there is EOJ osi 'rocky shore' vs. WOJ iso 'id.'
(Omodaka 1977.14: 33). This would make this poem an EOJ rather than a WOJ
poem, but this proposition is faulty, because in the case of the alleged WOJ
some- ~ EOJ sime- we have an alternation of 101 ~ /iI, and in the case of WOJ
iso ~ EOJ osi there is an alternation of 101 ~ iii. Consequently, this is not the
same phonetic process, and even the Japanese scholars who did not fully
embrace the ko-otsu distinctions in OJ for their analysis of the Man 'yoshii are
skeptical about replacing -(a)sime- with some- (Mizushima 1986: 56).
This poem is difficult to understand unless a reader has familiarity with
traditional Japanese symbolism: in this case waves going to the seashore are
compared to the inseparable lovers. The same parallelism can be seen in later
Japanese poetry concerning waves and wind.
The arguments whether this poem was composed by a male or a female are
essentially endless, and in view of the absence of any grammar or discourse
clues, I prefer to avoid a rather pointless debate regarding this particular poem.
Translation
In a certain book [a variant of this poem] says:
Commentary
We do not know what the book mentioned above is.
BOOK FOURTEEN 47
Romanization
(1) INtu-no umi-ni (2) sira kumo-no (3) taye-tutu mo (4) tuNk-am-u to [o]mop-
e ya (5) miNtare-some-kem-u
Translation
(5) Did [my heart] started to be confused (4) at the thought that [we] will
continue [being together] (3) although [sometimes we] break (2) like white
clouds (1) in the sea ofINtu? [ - Certainly not!]
Commentary
On the first line being hypermetric (jiamari, *~ f)) see the commentary to
14.3360 above.
The second line is hypometric (jitarazu,
for this fact.
* JE Gf). There is no explanation
This poem probably refers to the utaNkaki (EOJ kaNkapf) ritual. On
utaNkaki/kaNkapi ritual see the brief commentary to 14.3350. Much more
detailed commentary will be provided in the commentary to MYS 9.1759.
Translation
The poem above is a poem from lNtu province.
Commentary
As before, the variants are not counted as separate poems.
On lNtu province the commentary to 14.3660 above.
48 MAN'YC>SHO
Romanization
(1) AsiNkara-no (2) wote mo kono mo-ni (3) sas-u wana-no (4) (h)unaru rna
siNtum-i (5) ko-ro are pimo Wk-u
Translation
(4) The time for search (3) for the traps [they] set (2) on that side [and] this side
(l) of the AsiNkara (4) is over. (5) [Therefore, my] beloved [and] I will untie
our [garment] cords.
Commentary
I classifY this poem as EOJ rather than WOJ on the basis of the presence of
Ainu elements (see below) as well as on the basis of the misspelling ofWOJ 1«5
'girl' as ko in line five.
AsiNkara or AsiNkari corresponds to Asigara Upper and Lower counties in
Hakone mountains of present-day Kanagawa prefecture (ItO et al. 1981: 285),
(Nakanishi 1985: 415). Among these two variants AsiNkara is secondary,
resulting from the progressive assimilation AsiNkari > AsiNkara. The place
name AsiNkari is clearly of Ainu provenance: *Askar-i 'clear place'. For details
see Vovin (2009b: 3-5).
The main problem of interpretation and translation of this poem is connected
to line four. Exactly the same line occurs in 20.4430 (also an EOJ poem), but
this second attestation offers little if any help at all for interpreting this poem.
Mizushima cites thirteen different interpretations, which he groups into four
major clusters, and ends up with presenting his own lengthy interpretation: "The
game got caught in the trap, and was restless for a while, but finally it calmed
down" (1986: 58-60). Certainly, there are too many words for one short line in
his interpretation. Before we attempt to analyze this line, one point must be
made clear from the beginning. While most early manuscripts of book fourteen
clearly have PJ~mE Ikanarul in the beginning of line four, the oldest of them,
the Genryaku kohon (the facsimile of the text is reproduced in Mizushima
(l984a: 56» has '5 Q l ') in kana script. A furigana sign /v lrul written at the
right side of the last letter, clearly disambiguates it as lrul and not lro/, but the
first kana letter does not enjoy this privilege and certainly looks more like '5 lui
than ;; Ikal. I prefer to trust the Genryaku kohon manuscript that predates most
other old manuscripts by several centuries. Thus, we arrive at the point that the
first three kana signs in line four are to be read as lunarul, and not Ikanaru/.
Consequently, this annihilates all previous attempts by Japanese scholars to
interpret this part of line four as if it were Ikanaru/.
I believe that this poem, or more exactly its line four, might be a macaronic
Ainu-Japanese line. The sequence lunarul certainly makes no sense in Old
Japanese, but Ainu hunar 'to search' immediately comes to the mind. Neither
EOJ nor WOJ has the phoneme IbI in eighth century AD, and it was likely to be
just ignored in Japanese transcriptions except in the position before Iii, where it
was reflected as lsi (see the commentary to 14.3363 below). Furthermore, Ainu
final I-rl is a phonemic transcription, but the phonetic representation always
includes a vowel after final I-rl. This final phonetic vowel may be homorganic
with the vowel of the previous syllable, but this is not a rule, cf. Iparl 'mouth'
BOOK FOURTEEN 49
14.3362 (W)
*X . Original text
(1) ,NH~t1J\ JJ (2) -'¥-~t1J\ JtpJT !A.)i!'J (3) 1'D ~J: tL!A. im (4) fJt=§:ft4j W\91t i=j
(5) :g-'¥-t1J\z~!A.~
Translation
(1) SaNkamu peak (2) obscures the sight of smaller peaks, and (4) [I] called my
beloved's name (3) that [I] forgot, (5) [as if asking her:] do not make me cry
loudly!
Commentary
All oldest manuscripts of the Man 'yoshii gloss the placename t~H~ as SaNkami
(Mizushima 1984a: 58), but this apparently reflects the Heian period
pronunciation of this placename (Mizushima 1986: 61). In the man 'yogana type
A, the character ;j:~ stands for Imu!, but not for Imil or Iml/. We also have the
additional evidence from other phonographic spellings of the name of this
50 MAN'YQSHU
province such as tEl-m; (KJK II: 41 a) or 16:.~.$ (KJK II: 42a),z° both indicating
ISaNkamu/. Note that the character tEl IsaNkal is a disyllabic man yogana sign.
SaNkamu (tEl m) province includes most of present-day Kanagawa
prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 447). SaNkamu was one of the Upper Provinces
under Ritsuryo code. On the Ritsuryo code classification of yamato provinces
see the commentary to 5.818. SaNkamu peak might be Mt. Oyama (:*:~, also
known as Aburi-san (ffi~il~), 1,246 m), which is located in the vicinity of the
present-day cities ofIsehara (1jl'~)Jj("$), Hadano (~!lfm), and Atsugi (J¥*m)
in Kanagawa prefecture.
The OJ word mine 'peak, summit' etymologically consists of the honorific
prefix mi- and ne 'peak, summit', amply attested in the Man yoshii by itself. Cf.
miti 'road, way' < mi-ti 'HON-road', on which see the commentary to 15.3608.
The reading of .W.J~IT ~ ,'t!, in line two is a point of contention. Most of
modern Japanese commentators read it is MI-s6k-u si 'see(INF)-fade.away-FIN
PT' (Mizushima 1984a: 58). There are two difficulties with this approach. First,
the WOJ verb s6k- is an intransitive verb, and this does not agree with the
structure of the sentence, where wo-mine is apparently the object of this verb.
One can try to circumnavigate this problem by suggesting that actually the
transitive verb s6ke- 'to take away' is used here, but the semantic interpretation
in this case will still remain strange. Second, emphatic particle si does not occur
after final forms of verbs (Vovin 2009a: 1248). An alternative solution was
suggested by Takagi et al., who suggested that pJT Isol is a scribal mistake for PI
Ika/ (1959: 412, 476-77). This might have also been supported by the fact that
14.3362a below has ~ PI ~,'t!, /MI-kakus-i/, although Takagi et al. do not make
this argument. However, I believe that there is no need to aP..Eeal to scribal
mistakes here. Although not recognized in Japanese tradition, ffl 'place' may
easily have kungana reading Ika/, cf., e.g., such compounds as ar-i-ka 'place of
being' and sum-i-ka 'place of existence'. Interestingly enough, there are other
examples of pJT in the Man yoshii where it is used as a kungana for Ika/: 1.56,
3.315,3.385, etc. Finally, in the Nishi Honganji-bon manuscript the character
pJT has furigana Y Isol on the right, and furigana jJ /ka/ on the left. Thus, I
agree with Takagi et al. 's reading, but_not with their interpretation of tile
man yogana script: I keep the spelling ~PJT~,'t!" but read this sequence as IMI-
kakus-i/.
Lines one and two are considered to be a poetic introduction (fa, Ff:) to the
p~m •
The majority of modern commentators interpret MI-kakus-i in line two as
'pretending not to look'. This interpretation seems to be based on a much later
usage found in the Genji monogatari (Omodaka 1977.14: 35), but it apparently
goes against both the grammar (transitive verb is needed in the given context)
and the iqterpretation of the same phrase in the following variant 14.3362a,
where MI-kakus-i is unanimously treated as 'hiding from view'. Thus, I
interpret Mi-kakus-i as 'hiding from view' in both 14.3362 and 14.3362a.
Opinions are divided how to interpret line five. Some scholars take nak- as
the intransitive verb 'to cry' and na as the emphatic particle (Takagi et al. 1959:
412), (Tsuchiya 1977.7: 216), (Mizushima 1986: 61-62). This point of view
runs into a major grammatical problem, since a 'I' is marked by accusative case
marker -wo that requires a following transitive verb. Therefore, intransitive nak-
cannot be used here. The majority of other scholars analyze nak-una as a
20 Both the Fudoki and the Nihonshoki use the spelling tElij!: ISaNkamul, the same as in this poem.
BOOK FOURTEEN 51
negative imperative of the transitive verb nake- 'to make somebody cry'
(Kubota 1967: 148), (Kojima et al. 1973: 450), (Omodaka 1977.14: 35,37-39),
(Nakanishi 1981: 245), (It6 1997: 297), (Satake et al. 2002: 314). I follow this
second interpretation that I consider to be correct, since it does not involve any
ungrammaticality.
Strictly speaking, since the first person pronoun is written with a
semantogram 1§- we have no way to decide whether to read it as A or as WA:
both a-wo and wa-wo are possible in OJ. Thus, Omodaka opts for wa-wo
(1977.14: 35), while Mizushima prefers a-wo (1986: 61). My preference for a-
wo is based on the fact that a-wo is slightly more frequent in the phonographic
script in book fourteen.
There was a belief that calling the name of a person could cause his/her soul
to be separated from the body (Takagi et al. 1962: 97), (Nakanishi 1981: 333),
(Yoshii 1988: 289), see also the commentary to 15.3750. In the light of this
belief wasure-k-unt '[I] forgot' probably might be interpreted as 'I tried to
forget being afraid to pronounce it', although this interpretation runs contrary to
the fact that while consonantal verb wasur- implies intentional forgetfulness,
vowel verb wasure- designates natural forgetfulness (Omodaka et al. 1967: 818).
This poem is clearly composed by a man, since it contains imo '[female]
beloved, wife' as a point of reference.
Translation
In a certain book [a variant of this poem] says:
Commentary
We do not know what the book mentioned above is. This is apparently the
variant of 14.3362 that will be presented below as 14.3362a.
Romanization
(1) MuNsasi ne-no (2) wo-mine MI-kakus-i (3) wasure-yuk-u (4) kimi-Nka NA
kake-te (5) a-wo ne si nak-urn
Translation
(1) MuNsasi peaks (2) obscure the sight of smaller peaks, and (4) [1] called [my]
lord's name (3) that [I] started to forget, (5) [as if telling him: you] are making
me cry loudly!
Commentary
MuNsasi peaks are either the Chichibu mountains (~)( UJ) in present-day
Saitama prefecture or SaNkamu peaks, or the SaNkamu peak mentioned in
14.3362 (Omodaka 1977.14: 39).
Although overall 14.3362a is indeed very textually close to 14.3362, it
probably is not exactly the variant of the preceding poem, because while
14.3362 was composed by a man, 14.3362a is obviously a work by a woman, as
the reference point kimi 'lord' indicates.
The usage of the attributive -urn in the last line is not due to the kakari-
musubi rule.
14.3363 (E)
*X
(1)
. Original text
flJ~tittlf (2) ~R*1!iBj(~:fIj<=j (3) R*tft)z:k;j{ (4) *,Ei!;t~&~R*JJ
(5) ;j{~JJ*~*PJ
fli~ (J).~ r L- • Kana transliteration
(1) bZJ~-tt:'l:a:- (2)~'!~ 2"1~V)-c (3) '!-JLt=:T(4) ;bLZJ~G~'!
(J) 2 (5) T~' 20) 2 :. 20) 2 '! ZJ>
Romanization
(1) wa-Nka se-ko-wo (2). YamatO-pe yar-i-te (3) mat-u siNta su (4) AsiNkara
yama-no (5) suNk"i-no KO-no rna ka
Glossing with morphemic analysis
(1) I-POSS beloved-DIM-ACC (2) Yamato-DIR send-INF-SUB (3) wait-ATTR
time again (4) AsiNkara mountain-GEN (5) cryptomeria-GEN tree-GEN
interval PT
Translation
(1/2) Having sent my beloved to Yamato, (3/4/5) when [I] wait [for him], [I am
thinking]: "Will [he come back] again through the cryptomeria trees (4) on Mt.
AsiNkara?"
Commentary
In this poem in book fourteen we meet for the first time EOJ word siNta 'time'.
There are two peculiarities concerning the usage of this word. First, it has a
different morphosyntactic function as compared with EOJ toki 'time'. The EOJ
word toki 'time' is a free noun that can be used in isolation or after another
noun, and it does not appear after the attributive form of verbs signifying 'time,
when an action X takes/took/will take place' except in one example (14.3572).
In contrast to EOJ toki 'time', EOJ siNta 'time' is never used as a free noun and
always introduces a temporal clause 'time, when ... ' being used after the
attributive form of a verb. This phenomenon is completely alien to WOJ texts,
BOOK FOURTEEN 53
where tokf 'time' is used in both functions. Second, siNta 'time' is not attested
in any pure WOJ text, in spite of the fact that Fukuda tried to argue that siNta
'time' is a WOJ word since it is found once in FK 11 as well (1965: 426).21
Since WOJ corpus is at least twenty times bigger than EOJ corpus, the lack of
siNta 'time' in WOJ is certainly hard to explain if this word had a common
Japonic provenance. As a matter of fact, once again the borrowing explanation
from the Ainu language seems to be the ultimate answer. Ainu temporal
dependent clauses always involve hita [hidalhiDa] 'time, when.... ' preceded by
a verb. Unlike EOJ siNta [siUda] that is morphemically non-divisible, Ainu hita
is clearly bi-morphemic: hi 'time, occasion' + ta, locative suffix. Therefore, the
direction of loan can be only from Ainu to EOJ. A couple of comments on
phonetic correspondences between Ainu hi-ta [hi-da] ~ [hi-Da] and EOJ siNta
[siUda] are in order. First, neither EOJ nor WOJ had [h] in its phonemic or
phonetic inventory: in the position before [i] we would expect it to be
interpreted as [s:] pretty much in the same way as modem Japanese [h] is
realized before [i]. The only possible approximation to [s:i] that could be found
in both EOJ and WOJ phonetic inventory was [si]. Thus, the realization of Ainu
[hi] as EOJ [si] should not come as any surprise. Second, Ainu intervocalic
voiceless stops are phonetically realized as voiced or half-voiced. Since neither
EOJ nor WOJ had any plain voiced stops, but only prenasalized voiced stops,
Ainu intervocalic voiced were reflected in EOJ (and WOJ) as prenasalized
voiced stops (Vovin 2009b: 9-10).
The word su following siNta 'time' is defined as 'unknown' or identified as
the final form s-u of the verb se- 'to do' (Nakanishi 1981: 246), or simply
branded as 'difficult to explain' together with the preceding matu siNta (Takagi
et al. 1959: 412). There are even more incongruent explanations like Tsuchiya's
that analyzes mat-u siNta su 'wait-ATTR time ?' as matu si Ndas-u 'pine PT
erect-FIN' (Tsuchiya 1977.7: 218-19). The lack of agreement here seems to
indicate that none of these interpretations is correct. I believe that the word su in
line three is another Ainu loan, namely Ainu suy 'again.' The phonetic shape su
< *suy is in perfect compliance with EOJ reflexes of pre-OJ *-uy or *-oy, e.g.
pre-OJ *tukuy 'moon, month' > EOJ tuku, and pre-OJ *poy 'fire' > EOJ pu.
See also 14.3487 and 14.3564.
On AsiNkara see the commentary to 14.3361.
OJ suNki' 'cryptomeria' is the tallest evergreen tree in Japan. SuNki' is
endemic for Kyiishii, but it was planted all over Japan. The wood of
cryptomeria is widely used for building, and given the straight nature of its
trunk, it is very popular as a material for various kinds of poles and columns.
The bark of suNki' was widely used for thatching roofs. Its needles are about 4-
12 mm in length and are slightly bent. It blooms in March-April with male
species having pale yellow oval flowers that cluster at the end of larger
branches, while female species have globular green flowers that are attached to
the end of small branches. The fruits have globular shape and are lignified.
They ripen in October.
Although military service (that could include serving as a border guard
(WOJ sakfm6ri), palace guard, or any military unit) for the state was legally
defined as one year by the Ritsuryo code, in practice it could be extended up to
three years, and even beyond that (Mizushima 1986: 66).
21 For the arguments that FK 11 is not written in WOJ see Vovin (2009b: 25-27).
54 MAN'YQSHU
14.3364 (W)
*:>c . Original text
(1) 't2 }~,:ft~ iTh (2) i'Blf6tfJiJ7;&)#1J\ (3) 't2i'Bl)#siOj (4) 'Jf 1!i'Bl~tL iFF-
(5) ~iiJi'Bl~!A.::§'t2;&,~,
f.OC~ q)i!f~ r
1.., • Kana transliteration
(1) &:> LtJ~ GO) 2 (2) l'i:' 1 pO) 2 ~~ I;:: (3) &:>I'i ~ ~ I -c (4) J;. 2 C:. 21'if~
<
nQ:a:- (5) &:>I'if~ t 1 &:>~ L
Romanization
(1) AsiNkara-no (2) Pakone-no yama-ni (3) apa mak-i-te (4) MI to pa nar-er-u-
wo (5) ap-an-aku/apa na-ku mo ayasi
Translation
(3/4) Although [I] have sown millet (2) on Mt. Pakone in AsiNkara (4) and [it]
ripened (lit.: became fruits), (5) it is strange that [we] do not meet/there is no
millet.
Commentary
This poem is based on a word play: ap-an-aku 'do not meet' vs. apa na-ku
'there is no millet' .
On AsiNkara see the commentary to 14.3361.
Mt. Pakone is present-day Mt. Hakone (~m) on the border of Kanagawa
and Shizuoka prefectures. It is an active volcano with several craters, the
highest being Kami-yama (t$W) at 1,438 m. The characters ~m 'box root' are
likely to be ateji. The etymology of this placename is obscure, although -ne in
Pakone may be OJ ne 'summit, peak'. The remainder Pako- is unlikely to mean
'box', as it would be a strange name for a mountain. At this point, 1 cannot think
of an appropriate Ainu etymology either.
Translation
In a certain book the last stanza says: (4) 1f[1] pull [you] (3) like kudzu that (4)
[I] wish [you] come close (5) with a gentle heart.
Commentary
We do not know what the book mentioned above is. This postscript allows us to
reconstruct 14.3364a below.
BOOK FOURTEEN 55
14.3364a (W)
*Jt . Original text
~) :tc,~,~Nfitg (2) ?&ti!iffJiJJ~af1]\ (3) ?&;fij!A.~fft3 (4) !tPJ?&-.9-fU2ffJi (5)
,~, :$-~'H~JI~1*1]\
fli~ 0)1It~ r
l., • Kana transliteration
(1) ib Lo~GO) 2 (2) Ii:' 1 pO) 2~'11-: (3) lib< TO) 2 (4) l} 17J~liJ: 2
fJ :. 2P (5) Ltcftllftlll-:
Romanization
(1) AsiNkara-no (2) Pakone-no yama-ni (3) (3) pap-u kuNsu-no (4) pik-aNpa
yor-i-ko-n-e (5) sita napo napo n-i
Translation
(4) If [I] pull [you] (3) like a kudzu that crawls (2) on Mt. Pakone (1) in
AsiNkara (4) [I] wish [you] would come close (5) with submissive [mood in
your] heart.
Commentary
This poem happens to share with 14.3364 first two lines, but otherwise it is a
completely different poem. The first three lines are considered to be a poetic
introduction (ja, J¥) to lines four and five.
On AsiNkara see the commentary to 14.3361.
On Mt. Pakone see the commentary to 14.3364.
OJ kuNsu 'kudzu', 'arrowroot' (Puetaria thunbergiana) is an abbreviation of
kuNsu kaNtura 'kudzu vine' that is a type of vine that has a peculiar complex
leaf consisting of three leaves. During the hot sunny days kudzu raises these
leaves as a protection from the sunlight.
OJ sita 'inside of the heart' is probably derived from 'bottom, below'
(Omodaka et al. 1967: 353).
fli~ O).~ r
l., • Kana transliteration
<
(1) 7J~ '1 GO) 2 (2) J..;. 1 ::" 1 L 0) 2 ~ ~ 10) (3) It \ Ii <*- 20) (4) ~ 1 J..;. 1
<\o<jJA:.
2 2
7J~ 2 ~ 1 (5) :. 2 :. 2 -0 21i t 2 tc C
Romanization
(1) Kamakura-no (2) MiNkosi-no saki-no (3) ipa-kuye-no (4) kimi-Nka kuy-
uNpe-ki (5) kokoro pa mot-aNsi
56 MAN'Y0SHO
Translation
(5) [I] would not have the [crumbling] heart, (3) like the rockslide (2) at the
MiNkosi cape (1) in Kamakura, (4) which [my] lord should have to regret
[later].
Commentary
Kamakura district in SaNkamu province corresponds to present-day Kamakura
city in Kanagawa prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 437).
MiNkosi cape is alternatively identified as Inamuragasaki cape (ffBtt -7J1ffif)
or Koyurugi cape (;J' Ib JIffif) at Kosigoe (n~ ~) in Kamakura city, or
Mikoshigadake hill (iill!ll- -7 ffi, to the east of Kamakura's Daibutsu 'Big
Buddha') (Mizushima 1986: 71). Mizushima is inclined to agree with the last
interpretation on the basis of the fact that OJ saki does not necessarily refer to a
cape or a promontory, but he also acknowledges the fact that most other
commentators sided with either the first or second interpretation (1986: 71-72).
Omodaka is inclined towards the second explanation (1977.14: 42).
The first three lines are considered to be a poetic introduction va, F'}) to
lines four and five. There is a similar poem (3.437) containing almost identical
lines four and five, with the only difference that instead of kimi 'lord' it has imo
'beloved [female], wife' (Omodaka 1977.14: 43), (Mizushima 1986: 73).
14.3366 (E)
*Jt . Oril!inal text
(1) JffPJ*~,~ (2) 16:tfJi1J\fotBlffi!A. (3) PJJff!A.&fj~ (4) ~*~itJiiiiJY81J\
(5) }i~H*~:ti5*ftt~
Translation
(1) Because [she] is so dear [to me], (2) I will go to sleep [with her]. (5) [But]
could the [high] tide filling (4) Minan6se river (3) in Kamakura [prevent me to
go]?
Commentary
This poem is in Eastern Old Japanese, as demonstrated by typical EOJ tentative
marker -uram- that corresponds to WOJ -uram-.
BOOK FOURTEEN 57
Romanization
(1) moma t-u sima (2) AsiNkara woN-pune (3) aruk-i opo-rni (4) ME koso kar-
uram-e (5) kokoro pa [o]map-e-NtO
Translation
(3) Because [my] wanderings are many (2) [like those of] small boats [made of
cryptomeria trees from] AsiNkara (1) [that go between] hundred islands, (4) [I]
will be away from [your] sight, (5) but [I] think of [you in my] heart.
Commentary
The form t-u in moma t-u sima 'hundred islands' is the attributive form of the
defective verb to 'to be'. For details see Vovin (2009a: 544-46). T-u is written
with the man 'yogana sign ft, which is usually used for the syllable INtu/ with a
prenasalized voiced initial INti, but there are also cases when it is used for the
22The traditional point of view is that -na represents a genitive case marker (Yamada 1954: 419-
20), (Tokieda 1989: 203). This cannot be true, because, as this example demonstrates, it is
followed by another genitive -no, and a sequence of two genitives is certainly impossible.
58 MAN'YOsHD
syllable ltu/ with a voiceless initial It! (Omodaka et al. 1967: 896). See also
14.3370 below, where the same spelling is used.
On AsiNkara see the commentary to 14.3361.
We know that cryptomeria trees were used for boat building on the basis of
the surviving fragment from the Sagamu Fudoki ct!H~m±~c): JE'¥.~ r'j:JI:t~
<
'1 O)~O)*~ ~ I] -C f.YJI~ ""':) ~ 'As for AsiNkara mountain, [they] take the
cryptomeria trees from this mountain and make boats [from them)' (Akimoto
1958: 451). On cryptomeria see the commentary to 14.3363.
The third line is hypermetric (jiamari, ::f:#; I] ).
There is a disagreement among commentators whether the author of this
poem is a man or a woman. Keichii was inclined to see this poem as composed
by a man (Hisamatsu 1975: 21), but most modern commentators are inclined to
attribute authorship to a woman (Kubota 1967: 152), (Kojima et al. 1973: 452),
(Mizushima 1986: 75-76), (Omodaka 1977.14: 45), (Ito 1997: 304) with only
Nakanishi being non-committal (1981: 247).23 However, the approach of those
scholars who attribute the authorship of this poem to a woman is completely
impressionistic: essentially it boils down to the declaration that the poem is
more 'natural' if it were composed by a female. However, apart from this poem,
the expression me kare- 'be away from one's sight' occurs in the Man 'yoshii
four times (3.300, 6.942, 15.3731, and 20.4331). In all these poems this
expression is used by a man in reference to his beloved or his mother, whom he
has left behind going on a journey, or into exile. Consequently, 1 think that this
poem was composed by a man, and this is reflected in my translation.
Kojima et al. also indicate that there might a hidden play on words between
me 'eye' me and 'edible seaweed' as well as kar-uram- 'be.separated-TENT2'
and kar-uram- 'cut-TENT2' (1973: 452).
14.3368 (E)
*X
(1)
. Original text
(2) JJ
~iiJz#;~ljfjg l:t;fjgPT;ffi~1]\ (3) fjT R¥ITE7Jifjg (4) #;1]\e~W\ &1]\
(5) i'i.tgmfjT7Bl~R1]\
23 Although Takagi et al. do not state that they attribute this poem to a woman, their translation of
the poem into modem Japanese indicates it quite clearly (1959: 413).
BOOK FOURTEEN 59
Translation
(5) Although [my] dear girl did not say [it], (4) [our love] will not cease for a
life time (3) like the hot springs that go out (2) in the Topi river basin (5) in
AsiNkari.
Commentary
On AsiNkari see the commentary to 14.3361.
Topi river corresponds to present-day Chitosegawa river (-=f~) II) in Lower
Asigara county (JEWffW) of Kanagawa province (Nakanishi 1985: 467).
The main difficulty of this poem's interpretation is due to the word tayarani,
also attested as tayurani in 14.3392. It is often understood as MdJ yuragu 'to
sway' (Omodaka 1977.14: 46), (Mizushima 1986: 77-78), but the approach is
quite impressionistic and is not based on any kind of linguistic analysis.
Unfortunately, the word form tayorani - tayurani appears only twice and only
in EOJ corpus, but in both cases it is quite clear that it is used in reference to
water that does not do something, as witnessed by the negative -an-. Water does
stop or break - and this metaphor is frequently used in OJ poetry. Therefore, I
prefer a different interpretation that ties it to WOJ verb taye- 'to cease, to come
to an end' (Takagi et al. 1959: 413-14), (Nakanishi 1981: 247). The apparent
difficulty here is to explain the phonetic shape of EOJ tayar- - tayur- vs. WOJ
taye-, which is further aggravated by the fact that taye- also occurs in EOJ
corpus. The morphological structure of EOJ tayar- - tayur- is also opaque: it
may be a compound of taye- 'to break' and ar- 'to exist', but the phonological
change of e+a > aappears to be irregular. This is likely to remain a puzzle, but
it seems that the best solution is to assume the existence of a consonantal or a r-
irregular verb tayar- 'to cease' in EOJ (tayur- being the variant with 0 > u
raising).
Yo-ni mo in line four is sometimes understood as 'really, certainly'
(Omodaka 1977.14: 46), (Nakanishi 1981: 247), but this interpretation seems to
be based on the hapax legomenon in 12.3084, where yo-ni ma ({--,\;=:t) is
interpreted in this way, but it also can be much easier explained as 'life time-
LOC PT', as it occurs exactly in the same meaning: 'in one's life time' (and
sometimes also followed by a verb in the negative form as in 12.3084, 14.3368,
14.3392, and in other poems of the Man'yoshu: 6.1053, 6.1055, 13.3234,
13.3329, 18.4058, and 20.4360.
On the diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
The fifth line is hypermetric (jiamari, *~ t) ).
Romanization
(1) AsiNkari-no (2) mama-no ko-suNke-no (3) suNka-makura (4) aNse ka mak-
as-am-u (5) ko-ro se ta-makura
60 MAN'YOsHO
Translation
(5) Girl, use [my] anns as [your] headrest. (4) Why would [you] use (3) a sedge
pillow (2) [made of] small sedges from the cliffs (I) of AsiNkari?
Commentary
On AsiNkari see the commentary to 14.3361.
On mama 'cliff see the commentary to 14.3349. In contrast to his
commentary to 14.3349, Omodaka argues that in this poem mama is not a 'cliff,
but a placename (1977.14: 47), but his argumentation is speculative.
OJ suNke 'sedge' in Nara period mostly referred to a specific type of sedge/4
called kasa suge (~tf) 'straw hat sedge' in MdJ, alternatively also called minD
suge (:;Rtf) 'straw raincoat sedge', because straw hats and raincoats were made
of it. SuNke is a large perennial grass (reaching a height of up to one meter) that
grows in the damp areas on land as well as in shallow ponds and marshes. 25 Its
stalk has triangular shape, and leaves are very hard, so it is very easy to cut
one's hands. It blooms in the summer, and is cut in the autumn, and after it dries,
straw hats and raincoats are made from it. In the Nara period headrests for not
so affluent people were also made of sedge as well as of straw.
EOJ aNse 'why' corresponds to WOJ naNso 'id.' For details see Vovin
(2005: 333-35).
On EOJ ko 'girl' see the commentary to 14.3361.
On the diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
14.3370 (E)
;;<$:Jt • Orig!nal text
(I) *,~,fXm.JJ (2) 1Bt~1fJifj~1fJigJJ (3) 1]\~~f&:~ (4) ~~i)RJ#~1L-\:t1,
(5) It-a~PJ5t1fJ\$
Translation
(4) Are [you] a newly-wed bride (3) that is like a soft grass (2) at the Pak6ne
peaks (1) in AsiNkari? [- Certainly not!] (5) [Why] would [I] sleep [with you]
without untying the cords [of my garment]?
Commentary
On AsiNkari see the commentary to 14.3361.
On Mt. Pak6ne see the commentary to 14.3364.
On the diminutive suffix -ra see the commentary to 14.3351.
On the man 'yogana sign Si being used for the syllable /tu/ see the
commentary to 14.3367.
The fifth line is hypermetric (jiamari, ** I') ).
This poem is difficult to interpret exactly, due to two obscure expressions:
nik6-N-kusa and pana t-u tuma: there are almost as many explanations as the
Man 'yoshu scholars, especially in the latter case. The various proposals for
identification of nik6-N-kusa are listed in detail by Yamada and Nakajima (1995:
416-17), and hypotheses concerning interpretation of pana t-u tuma are
meticulously provided by Mizushima (1986: 81-82).
As far as nikO-N-kusa is concerned, it seems that there are two leading
interpretations, one claiming that it is simply 'soft grass', without any
specification of the species, and another insisting that it refers to a specific plant
Hakone sida 'Hakone fern' (Omodaka et al. 1967: 544). 1 prefer the first
solution, because there are other cases of OJ nik6 'soft, gentle' in compounds
followed by the compressed form -N- of the defective verb attributive form n-a,
e.g. nik6-N-te 'soft hands.' On the other hand, if we take nik6 in nikO-N-kusa to
be a name of a specific plant, we will face the situation when, while all other OJ
plant names that include -kusa as the second element of a compound are
etymologically transparent, nik6 is certainly not. Since ferns are anything but
soft, the possibility of nik6 'soft' underlying the name of a plant should also be
discarded.
Among many interpretations of pana t-u tuma, ranging from a 'promiscuous
woman' to 'inaccessible woman', 1 prefer the interpretation of 'a newly-wed
bride', who is shy to sleep with [her] husband, which goes back to Kamochi
Masazumi (Mizushima 1986: 81).
Sleeping with untied cords of one's garment is a metaphor for sexual
abstinence. On the symbolism of tying and untying the cords see the
commentary to 15.3585.
On the spelling of the word pima 'cord' see the commentary to 15.3585.
62 MAN'YQSHU
Romanization
(1) AsiNkara-no (2) mi-saka kasiko-rni (3) kumor-i yo-no (4) a-Nka sita-N-
pape-wo (5) kot[o]-iNte-t-uru kamo
Translation
(1/2) Because the slope of AsiNkara [pass] is awesome, (5) [I] ended up saying
(4) my inner thoughts (3) [that are hidden] like [a moon] on a cloudy night!
Commentary
On AsiNkara see the commentary to 14.3361.
AsiNkara pass is a mountain pass leading from Suruga province to Sagamu
province. It is located on the border of present-day Upper Asigara county (JE:ffl
:J:tfj) of Kanagawa prefecture and Suruhigashi county O§~}if<[tfj) of Shizuoka
prefecture (Ito et al. 1991: 285). A deity was venerated at this pass, and even
nowadays there is a shrine (Omodaka 1977.14: 50).
On OJ sita 'inside of the heart' see the commentary to 14.3364a.
WOJ kat-iNte- 'words go out' is a contraction of kata 'word' and iNte- 'to go
out'.
Although Mizushima in his critical edition of book fourteen of the
Man 'yoshii spells the particle kama (PT iB:) with the character iB: (1984a: 75), I
prefer the spelling kama (PT::£) with the character ::£ because it is found in the
earliest manuscripts Genryaku kohon and Ruijii koshii in spite of its
unetymological nature. The earliest manuscripts where the spelling kama (PT iB:)
appears are only the Nishi honganji-bon and Kishii-bon, but both are much later
than Genryaku kohon and Ruijii koshii, especially Kishii-bon, since its last ten
books date only from the Muromachi period.
Romanization
(1) SaNkamu-N-ti-no (2) YoroNki-no pama-no (3) manaNko-nasu (4) KO-ra pa
kanasi-ku (5) omop-ar-uru kamo
BOOK FOURTEEN 63
Translation
(5) Oh, [I] suddenly think (4) [how] dear [to me] is [my] girl, (3) [beautiful] like
fine sand (2) on the shore ofYoroNkl (1) on the road to SaNkamu!
Commentary
On SaNkamu province see the commentary to 14.3362.
Shore of YoroNkl corresponds to present-day shore between Oiso town (*
~1IlT) in the Naka county (rfl1m) in the central part of Kanagawa prefecture and
Odawara city (lj\ EB JJjfm) in the south-western part of the same prefecture (Ito
et al. 1991: 384).
OJ manaNk6 'fme sand' probably consists of adj ective mana 'fine, splendid',
the compressed form -N- of the defective verb attributive form n-o, and k6
'miniscule object' < k6 'child'. Given the existence of WOJ manaNk6 'beloved
child, dear child', the play on words may have been meant here.
Commentary
On SaNkamu province see the commentary to 14.3362.
14.3373 (W)
*X . Original text
(1) ~~J#miB1]\ (2) h::N~JF3 R!A.~1j (3) 'f6:Nh::N1]\ (4) *f=~~q:1iMJJ
(5) cpq::t:PJ*zf!i:
f&~ 0).~ r l" • Kana transliteration
(1) t~ '1 ~q:t:~ (~) ~ G-t""C -'5 <~ (3) ~ G ~ G I~ (4) tt I~.:c 2 ::::. 2 (J) 2::::' I
(J) 2 (5) '- 2'- 2 t~iJ>tt L~ I
Romanization
(11 Tama-N-kapa-ni (2) saras-u te-N-tukur-i (3) sara sara n-i (4) nani so kono
KO-no (5) kokoNta kanasi-kl
Translation
(4) Why is this girl (5) so dear [to me] (3) more and more (2) [like] hand-made
[cloth] that [they] bleach (1) [after washing it] in TamaNkapa river?
64 MAN'YOSHO
Commentary
TamaNkapa river starts at Kasatori mountain in the North-East of Yamanashi
prefecture and flows through Chichibu mountain region and KantO plain to
Tokyo bay. Its length is 138 km (Mizushima 1986: 87).
Te-N-tukur-i 'one made by hand' here indicates a cloth woven by hand.
The process of bleaching used in Ancient 1apan involved washing the cloth
in water and then exposing it to the sun.
*X
(1)
. Original(2) text
14.3374 (E)
ftt~!l!fYJ\ f ~~PJ~m1~ (3) Jfftc5}]\~ (4) J7~frJZ1~~fX~ (5) f
~'lJ\f§'lJ\*£
f&~ Oy. ~ r .
~ Kana transliteration
(1) D>2-""LO) If~ (2) -) Gr...dJ~t::.5?2~ I (3) '!2--cf~t I (4) 0)2GI'b.~ I
J-;- I 7J~ft. (5) -) G f~ -cf~lt I l')
Romanization
(1) MuNsasi NO-ni (2) ura-pe kata yak-I (3) masaNte n-i rna (4) n6r-an-u klml-
Nka NA (5) ura-ni [i]Nte-n-i-ker-i
Translation
(4) The name of [my beloved] lord which [I] did not tell [to anyone] (3/5)
became clearly known through divination (2) when a diviner burnt [deer]
shoulder [blade] (1) at the MuNsasi plain.
Commentary
This poem superficially looks like a perfect W01 text, but the E01 adverb
mqsC:JNte n-i 'clearly, surely, really' vs. WOJ masa n-i 'id.' betrays its E01
ongm.
MuNsasi is a place name of Ainu origin, derived from Ainu mun 'grass' + sa
'shore, plain' + -hi third person singular possessive. i.e. 'grass plain' or 'grass
shore' (reflected in E01 as si, cf. also Ainu hita 'time, when' > E01 siNta 'id.'
in 14.3363). For more details see Vovin (2009b: 2). MuNsasi (lEt~) was one of
Great Provinces (Taikoku, *~) under the Ritsuryo code. On the Ritsuryo code
classification ofYamatO provinces see the commentary to 5.818.
On divination practices in the Asuka and Nara periods see the commentary
to the Chinese essay found after 5.896 (Vovin 20lla: 147).
BOOK FOURTEEN 65
Romanization
(1) MuNsasi NO-no (2) woN-kukY-Nka kiNkisi (3) tat-i wakare (4) in-i-si yopi-
yori (5) se-ro-ni ap-an-ap-u yo
Translation
(4) From the night when [he] went away, (3) rising up and parting with [me] (2)
like a pheasant [flying up] from small stalks [of the bush] (1) in the MuNsasi
plain (5) [I] have never met [my] beloved!
Commentary
On MuNsasi province see the commentary to 14.3374.
EOJ kuki'is considered to be a hapax legomenon. Some scholars remain non-
committed (Kojima et al. 1973: 454), (It6 1997: 317) regarding its interpretation,
but there is also tendency to interpret it as 'promontory, cape' (Tsuchiya
1977.7: 230), (Mizushima 1986: 91), (Satake et al. 2002: 318) or 'cave' (Takagi
et al. 1959: 415) (Omodaka 1977.14: 54). Regarding the last interpretation
Mizushima correctly indicates that the word for 'cave' is kukf, not kuk'i (1986:
91), and there is no evidence for the confusion of the ko-rui /kil with the otsu-
rui Ibl in the MuNsasi dialect (Kupchik 2011: 197). Pheasants normally nest
among medium height grass or bushes. Consequently, there is nothing to
prevent us from interpreting EOJ kuki' in this poem as the same WOJ word for
'stem, stalk'.
On the diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
The verbal form ap-an-ap- 'to continue not to meet', with the iterative -ap-
following negative, also demonstrates typical EOJ order of morphemes, as in
WOJ the order is reverse, with negative following the iterative. For more details
see Vovin (2009a: 820-28).
14.3376 (E)
,*X • Original text
(1) ti;j.~,~,~~ (2)
(5) {jl-g'lJ\R~S3*
*"j =€;;ffi &fEtSJL (3) :$!ftiitlf Jj (4) f*&fX~~Jj
Romanization
(1) kopYsi-keNpa (2) soNte mo pur-am-u-wo (3) MuNsasi NO-no (4) ukera-Nka
pana-no (5) iro-ni [i]Nt-una yume
66 MAN'VOSHU
Translation
(1) If [you] miss [me], (2) [I] will wave [my] sleeves, but (5) in your [facial]
color do not show at all [your love for me] (4) like ukera flower (3) from the
plain ofMuNsasi!
Commentary
On MuNsasi province see the commentary to 14.3374.
Ukera is probably an EOJ word. Unfortunately, the corresponding WOJ
word is not attested phonographically, except in late katakana gloss as '7 7" '7
[wokera] (NS XXIX: 379), which is also supported by MJ wokera found in
several sources, as well as by MdJ okera. EOJ ukera - MJ wokera ~ MdJ okera
(Lat. Atractylodes japonica) is a perennial grass from the chrysanthemum
family that grows in the wild. It reaches the height of approximately 60 em (2
£1). It blooms in September-October with flowers ranging from white to a pale
red color. Its metaphorical usage for revealing one's feelings in facial color
probably comes from the pale red color. Okera's young sprouts are edible, and
roots are used as a stomach medicine.
On the sleeve-waving ritual by women see the commentary to 14.3389.
. Original text
Postscript to the poem 14.3376
*:t
~**El
Translation
In a certain book the poem says:
Commentary
We do not know what the book is. This poem apparently is the variant of
14.3376 that will be presented below as 14.3376a.
Romanization
(1) ika n-i s-i-te (2) kopi'-Npa ka imo-ni (3) MuNsasi NO-no (4) ukera-Nka
pana-no (5) iro-oi [i]Nte-Ns-u ar-am-u
BOOK FOURTEEN 67
Translation
(2) If[I] long for [my] beloved, (5) would not [my feelings] show in [my facial]
color (I) anyway (4) like ukera flower (3) from the plain of MuNsasi?
Commentary
On MuNsasi province see the commentary to 14.3374.
On EOJ ukera see the commentary to 14.3376.
The poem 14.3376a actually looks not like a variant of 14.3376, but as a
reply to it, composed by a man.
Mizushima suggested that the metaphor involving ukera flower in this poem
is to be understood in the sense that ukera is an inconspicuous white flower, so
he interprets lines four and five as 'will not show in my face like ukera flower'
(1986: 95). This interpretation, however, does not agree well with the usage of
the same metaphor in 14.3376 above, and also ignores the fact that the whole
sentence is interrogative, not affirmative, since there is an interrogative particle
ka in the second line.
14.3377 (E)
*X
(1)
. Original(2)text
ftt~!l!f]J lA{£tBtagftt~ (3) RJ=€; RJ 1A£3: (4) {;(~;ftWfJr\*Jr\ (5) :g
~~fIJJr\,~,5f
Romanization
(I) MuNsasi NO-no (2) kusa pa moro muk-i (3) ka mo ka-ku mo (4) kimi-Nka
manima n-i (5) WA PA yor-i-n-i-si-wo
Translation
(112) The grass on the MuNsasi plain faces all [directions] (3) in this way and in
that way. (5) I, [on the other hand], followed [only] my lord's will, but. ..
Commentary
On MuNsasi province see the commentary to 14.3374.
Two topic particles pa in this poem are clearly contrastive.
There is a considerable disagreement between scholars whether IA{£iBl in
line two should be interpreted as kusa pa 'grass TOP' (Takagi et al. 1959: 415),
(Kubota 1967: 158), (Kojima et al. 1973: 455), (Tsuchiya 1977.7: 282),
68 MAN'YOSHU
(Nakanishi 1981: 249), (Mizushima 1986: 96), (Satake et al. 2002: 319), or
kusaNpa 'grass leaves' (Omodaka 1977.14: 56), (Ito 1997: 317). I believe that
the second interpretation is untenable because there are no other examples of
kusaNpa 'grass leaves' in OJ.
semantograms £-*
There is also a disagreement between various commentaries whether the
in line five should be read as A PA (Takagi et al. 1959:
415), (Kojima et al. 1973: 455), (Tsuchiya 1977.7: 282), (Nakanishi 1981: 249),
(Mizushima 1986: 96), (Ito 1997: 317), (Satake et al. 2002: 319) or WA PA
(Kubota 1967: 158), (Omodaka 1977.14: 56). I follow here Kubota and
Omodaka's opinion, because although a pa 'I TOP' occurs once in WOJ in
phonographic spelling (KK 5), there no examples of it in the Man 'yoshii.
Meanwhile, wa pa 'I TOP' occurs in the Man 'yoshii alone in phonographic
script ten times in EOJ corpus and once in WOJ corpus. The only phonographic
WOJ example of wa pa is 20.4408, but this is a poem written by Yakamoti in
imitation of a sakfmori poem, so the usage there is likely to be influenced by
EOJ. Therefore, we should treat the sequence wa pa 'I TOP' as an EO] feature.
The concessive usage of the accusative case marker -wo in the fifth line after
the attributive form of verb indicates that the author regrets her action of
trusting her lover, but does not put her complaint into words.
14.3378 (E)
*X
(1)
. Ori~inal text
{jt*ljR*iil'~ (2) ~{*~fJt7Et.l~Um (3) {jt7Et~m& (4) J:tnr~9JUJTEJ< k
(5) :fD/J\~~~\~Hfr;
~~ (7).~ r L- • Kana transliteration
(1) v\ VJ '1 t?(J) 2 (2) :t311~7Jqj:G(J) 2 (3) v\l'ic1d/)G (4) V.17J'li6b.~6b.
~ (5) :b"::.ftf::*-- 2-Z:- 2td
Romanization
(I) Irima-N-ti-no (2) Opoya-Nka para-no (3) ipawi-tura (4) pik-aNpa nuru-nuru
(5) wa-ni na-taye-so-n-e
Translation
(3/4) If [I] ask [you] out, [come] smoothly [to me, like] a rock vine (2) from
Opoya field (1) at the road to Irima (4) that smoothly [comes] if one pulls [it].
(5) Do not break up with me, please!
Commentary
!rima (J-F",9) is the name of one of districts in MuNsasi province, it corresponds
to present-day Iruma county cJ\F",9m) in Saitama prefecture (Mizushima 1986:
97), (Nakanishi 1985: 428).
The exact location of Opoya field is unknown. There are four comeeting
explanations of the placename Opoya. One takes it as 0yazawa (*~~) in
Hidaka ~own (S/~IBT) ofIruma cou~ty (AF",9m) in Saitama prefectu~e, ano~he~
one as Oya (*~) in Ogose town (m1:.lBT) of the same county, third as OWl
BOOK FOURTEEN 69
town (*j:j:aJT) of the same county, and the fourth as Sakado city (t.riiFm, old
Oyake village (**H) in Iruma county) (Nakanishi 1985: 433).
It is not clear what kind of vine ipawi-tura is, although there are several
hypotheses concerning its identification with modem plants (Mizushima 1986:
98). /pawi-tura is also attested in 14.3416, but does not appear in WOJ texts.
The first element of this compound in all probability can be analyzed as ipa
'rock' and wi- 'to sit, to dwell'. Thus, ipawi-tura is a 'rock vine', or literally 'a
vine that dwells on rocks' .
The EOJ language of the poem can be also argued on the basis by wa-ni '1-
DAT', which does not occur in WOJ corpus.
This poem involves a play on words: OJ pfk- besides its usual meaning 'to
pull, to drag' also means 'to ask out', 'to invite for a date' (of a man to a
woman). Thus, we know that the author of this poem is a man.
There are two other similar poems, both in language and content, in book
fourteen: 14.3416 and 14.3501.
14.3379 (E)
*:>c . Original text
(1) flJ::fX"tlti!ij[-,¥- (2) *ttRJ£3:{jT1&:tit (3) -$.M~!l!f7J (4) ~*&::fX1&:~7J
(5) ~5~1t£3:~-'¥-
Romanization
(1) wa-Nka se-ko-wo (2) aN-tO kamo ip-am-u (3) MuNsasi NO-no (4) ukera-
Nka pana-no (5) told na-ld monowo
Translation
(1/2) What shall [I] say about my beloved, I wonder? (4) Like ukera flower (3)
on the MuNsasi plain, (5) [my longing for him] is timeless, but. ..
Commentary
On MuNsasi province see the commentary to 14.3374.
On EOJ ukera see the commentary to 14.3376.
This poem is unmistakably in Eastern Old Japanese since it has EOJ
interrogative pronoun aN- 'what, why' vs. WOJ nani 'id.'. For details see
Vovin (2005: 309-11).
The oldest manuscripts, Genryaku k6hon and Ruiju koshu, both have ff
instead of tt INtO/ in line two, and the character tf is also found in some later
manuscripts, like Kishu-bon and Hosoi-bon. However, in this case I prefer to
use tt used in the Nishi Honganji-bon as an archetype for two reasons: first, the
usage of tf as a man 'y6gana sign in this poem is unique: it does not occur in
any other OJ texts; second, while tt has a stop initial (EMC efjwo), tf has an
70 MAN'YC>SHU
and *
affricate one (EMC dzjwo). In addition, it is very easy to confuse radicals 1"
especially in a cursive or a semi-cursive script.
Besides its direct meaning 'there is no time', loki na- is also used in the
meaning 'timeless, usual, perpetual'. Ukera flowers are not timeless, of course,
but they are typical for MuNsasi plain, where they usually bloom, hence the
metaphoric comparison.
Since the author uses the word se 'elder brother, male beloved', she is surely
a woman.
14.3380 (W)
*X . Orig!.nal text
(I) ~5~~~J2) i$:/J\-'¥-mE~tfJ\JJ (3) PI £-,¥-{jt~~ (4) ~*;i&~EE ~~
(5) Qq:~*~M~tfJ\
Translation
(4) Even though the [mooring] ropes (1/2) of a boat in Sakitama harbor (4) will
break (3) because the wind is violent, (5) [I] wish [you] will not stop [sending
me your] letters.
Commentary
Sakitama harbor was probably located on the Tonegawa river (fUm;ll) in the
south of GyOda city (iT E8 "$) in the northwest of present-day Saitama
prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 448). Placename Sakitama (MdJ Saitama) appears
already as Saitama in the tenth century dictionary Wamyo ruijiishO (Mizushima
1986: 102).
Line three is hypermetric (jiamari, *~ ~ ).
On the absolutive case marker -wo see the commentary to 15.3599. For
details, see Vovin (2005: 163-67).
Kola in line five literally means 'word', but since lovers exchanged letters, it
indicates here the love relationship. It is not possible to tell exactly whether the
author of this poem is a man or a woman, but since a man was normally
expected to initiate the correspondence between the two, it more likely was
composed by a woman rather than by a man.
BOOK FOURTEEN 71
14.3381 (W)
*X . Orig~~al text
(1) ~:ms~,HI:ttA. (2) '=P~J:t-'¥-kz Ej (3) ~~1!fIjJJ (4) f¥$ .&Jit~~--9
(5) ~PJ#;z$~f:g:,~,
Romanization
(1) natu-so-N-pik-u (2) Unapi-wo sas-i-te (3) toNp-u tOri-no (4) itar-am-u to so
yo (5) a-Nka sita-N-pape-si
Translation
(5) I thought in the depth of my heart: (4) "[I] will reach [the place of my
beloved], (3) like a bird that flies (2) towards Unapi (1) 'that [they] pull like
summer hemp'" (makura-kotoba)!
Commentary
On the permanent epithet (makura-kotoba, tt ~PJ) natu-so-N-pfk-u see the
commentary to 14.3348.
Although Omodaka notes that placename Unapi is not otherwise attested in
MuNsasi (1977.14: 61), it appears in other locations (see 9.1801-1802,9.1809-
1810, 17.3991, and 19.42 II ). His further remark that if we are to understand
Unapi as una-pf 'sea side' it must be pi', and not pf in EOJ (1977.14: 61)
probably has basis for the EOJ MuNsasi dialect. On the contrary, given the fact
that the permanent epithet natu-so-N-pfk-u is attached to words una- 'sea' and
inoti 'life' (see the commentary to 14.3348), it may be possible that Unapi
indeed means 'sea side'. The exact location of Unapi is unknown, but it might
have been located in Unane ('=P~t1t) of Takatu ward (r%i$IR) of Kawasaki
city () IIw.:tm) in present-day Kanagawa prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 430).
For line five see 14.3371.
There are no EOJ distinctive features in this poem.
Translation
Nine poems above are from MuNsasi province.
Commentary
On MuNsasi province see the commentary to 14.3374.
72 MAN'yOSHO
Romanization
(1) UmaNkuta-no (2) ne-ro-no sasa-N-PA-no (3) tuyu sima-no (4) nure-te wa k-
i-n-aNpa (5) NA PA kopu-Npa soma
Translation
(5) Whether you long for [me or] not, (4) if I come [back] drenched (3) by dew
and frost (2) from the leaves of bamboo grass at the peak (I) ofUmaNkuta ...
Commentary
According to Nakanishi, UmaNkuta peak was located in UmaNkuta O~ ffi)
(or alternatively MaNkuta (~WE)) district of Simotupusa province, but it is not
*
clear to which mountain there it could refer (1985: 430). Ito et al. further
comment that the old UmaNkuta district is now in Kirnitsu county (~$m) of
Chiba prefecture (1991: 302). UmaNkuta can be further specifically defined as
Umakuta village, presently known as Fukuta town (~* ffi lilT) (Takagi et al.
1959: 416). Both Omodaka and Mizushima suggest a slightly different location
in near-by Kisarazu city (*!1!$$), where MOda town (~WEIiIT) is also found.
They both further cite in support of their point of view the fact that in the list of
counties found in the WamyoshO there is ~ WE county transcribed in the
man 'yogana as *,¥:t: /mauda/ (Omodaka 1977.14: 62), (Mizushima 1986:
106). While -k- before u certainly could easily drop in the Heian period
language, the loss of -g- < OJ -Nk- before u would be very unusual, so I am
inclined to accept the point of view of Nakanishi, Ito et al., and Takagi et al.,
placing UmaNkuta into modem Kimitsu county.
On the diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
The biggest problem in the interpretation of this poem is presented by lines
four and especially five. In line four the problem is caused by wa kfnaNpa 'if!
come', which is viewed by some scholars as a corruption of wa yukfnaNpa 'if I
go'. However, Omodaka demonstrated quite convincingly that there is no need
to look for a 'corruption' here (1977.14: 63). Much greater problem concerns
k6puNpa in line five. Traditionally, there are two ways to explain this form, but
the methodology is basically the same, with k6puNpa declared to be a
'corruption' (~t ~) of either WOl k6pureNpa 'because [you] long for [me]'
(Omodaka 1977.14: 63) or k6pimu '[you] will long for [me]' (Mizushima 1986:
107). Needless to say, this approach is methodologically unacceptable, because
EOJ is not a 'corruption' of WOl, but a related language, which can have
different paths of change as compared to WOl. Moreover, there is not a single
BOOK FOURTEEN 73
other example in the whole EOJ corpus, where EOJ -uNpa would correspond to
WOJ -ureNpa, or to WOJ -i'mu. Thus, although substitution of EOJ kOpuNpa to
WOJ kOpureNpa or kopi'mu would make sense as far as the flow of the text is
concerned, this will amount to the ad hoc rewriting of the text, which is not
acceptable. I have attempted before to explain Npa somo through the prism of
Ainu (Vovin 2009b: 46), but in retrospect I believe that this attempt was far-
fetched. I now think that the correct analysis of EOJ kOpuNpa on its own terms
was offered by Kupchik in his recent Ph.D. dissertation. Kupchik suggested that
EOJ kopu-Npa corresponds to the WOJ conditional gerund kopi"-Npa 'if [you]
long for [me]' (20 II: 431). This makes sense from the point of view of
historical linguistics: WOJ kopi"- and EOJ kOpu- are both derived from PJ
*kopoy- (cf. early WOJ koposi 'be longing for' (KK 110), later WOJ kOpi"si
'id.', amply attested, EOJ kopusi 'id.' (14.3476, 20.4419», with two different
paths of development:
PJ *kopoy- > WOJ kopi"- (*oy contracts to i)
PJ *kopoy- > pre-EOJ *kopuy- > EOJ kopu- (*0 raises to u, and
then *-uy loses final *-y)
This solution, however, leaves us with two conditional phrases in the poem: 'if!
come' and 'if you long for me', leaving the text hanging in the air without the
final phrase showing the realization of these two conditions. Japanese scholars
have different views in analyzing the final somo as a 'focus particle' so +
'emphatic particle' mo (Kojima et al. 1973: 456), (Nakanishi 1981: 250),
(Omodaka 1977.14: 63), 'emphatic statement' (Takagi et at. 1959: 416),
'emphatic particle' Nsomo (Kubota 1967: 161), (Tsuchiya 1977.7: 288),
(Mizushima 1986: 107), (It6 1997: 327). Emphatic particle Nsomo does not
exist either in WOJ or in EOJ, and there is no indication that the consonant in so
was prenasalized Ns-, as so is spelled with ~ /so/. If we follow the point of
view of Kojima et al., Nakanishi, and Omodaka, we run into one problem: while
emphatic particle mo can follow focus particle so (Vovin 2009a: 1256), focus
particle so is not found in OJ after conditional -(a)Npa (Vovin 2009a: 1186-
87).26 Tentatively, I suppose that this somo may reflect the Ainu negative somo
'not', therefore line five can be interpreted as 'whether you long for me or not'.
14.3383 (E)
*::t . Original text
(1) fat~~~ (2) tfJ\ 8~PJ !A.m~ (3) PJ !A.:;t~~ (4) !A.~JJ1H* PJyt
(5) ~fX § {*m~-$
Romanization
(1) UmaNkuta-no (2) .!1e-ro-ni kakur-i-wi (3) ka-ku Ntani mo (4) kuni-no tOpo-
k-aNpa (5) na-Nka ME por-i se-m-u
Translation
(2) [I] dwell in hiding at the peak (1) ofUmaNkuta, and (3/4) when the [home]
province is just so far, (5) [I] want [to see] your eyes.
Commentary
On UmaNkuta see the commentary to 14.3382.
On the diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
EOJ topo-k-aNpa 'when [it] is far' corresponds to WOJ topo-ke-Npa 'id.'
with expected outcome ofPJ *ea > *ia > WOJ e and EOJ a. See also 14.3410
below. On conditional-aNpa indicating temporal connection when followed by
a main verb containing tentative -(a)m- or negative tentative -aNsi see the
commentaries to 5.882, 15.3629 and for the details Vovin (2009a: 733-34).
Commentary
On Kamitupusa province see the commentary to 14.3348.
Romanization
(I) KaNtusika-no (2) mama-no TENKO-na-wo (3) rna kotO kamo (4) ware-ni
yos-u to [i]p-u (5) mama-no teNko-na-wo
Translation
(3) [Is it] true, 1 wonder (4) that [they] say that 1 am intimate (2) with the
maiden from the cliffs (1) of KaNtusika, (5) the maiden from the cliffs?
BOOK FOURTEEN 75
Commentary
On KaNtusika see the commentary to 14.3349.
On mama 'cliff' see the commentary to 14.3349.
TeNka 'maiden' is clearly an EOJ word (-nain teNka-na is EOJ diminutive
suffix -na corresponding to WOJ -ra (Vovin 2005: 208-09)), because even
when it appears in WOJ texts, it is clearly associated with KaNt}1sika (3.431-
433, 9.1807-1808). Possibly KaNtusika-no (2) mama-no teNKO-na 'maiden
from KaNtusika cliffs' was some legendary beauty, although it should not be
taken as a personal name, because teNka 'maiden' also appears in other EOJ
texts not associated with KaNtusika: one poem from Sinanu province (14.3398)
and in four poems from unidentified provinces (14.3442, 14.3477, 14.3485, and
14.3540). Nevertheless, it is also found as a part of female name Te[N]kome
(-¥r!JJl) in the census ofMino province of702 AD (Omodaka et al. 1967: 483).
I have suggested elsewhere that teNkO is probably from Ainu tek-o [tego] 'take
in one's arms, embrace (lit.: arm-take in)', with Ainu -k- [-g-! regularly
corresponding to OJ -Nk-, for more details see Vovin (2009b: 33-42). 7
(1) I5T
. Ori&i.!lal text
14.3385 (E)
*X R,Il!F~~ (2) Wff-it~-¥~~#: (3) *l~l:Lz~15T (4) Wf*7JnN~.l:tJ]\
(5) ~~~1Htg/J\
Romanization
(1) KaNtusika-no (2) mama-no TENKO-na-Nka (3) ar-i-si paka (4) mama-no
osu-pi-ni (5) nami mo tONtoro n-i
Translation
(1/2/3) [Due to] a rumor that the maiden from the cliffs of KaNtusika was
[there], (5) the waves were roaring, too (4) at the rocky shore of the cliffs.
Commentary
On KaNtusika see the commentary to 14.3349.
On mama 'cliff see the commentary to 14.3349.
On EOJ teNka ~ teNkO-na 'maiden' see the commentary to 14.3384.
Line three represents a puzzle. The oldest -extant manuscripts where this
poem is extant, the Genryaku kohon and the Ruijii koshii both have ~15T paka,
while the Nishi h~mganji-bon, the Kishii-bon, the Oya-bon, and the Kyoto
daigaku~bon have ~15T Npaka. Only the Hosoi-bon, the Katsujifukun-bon, the
Katsuji mukun-bon, and the Kan 'ei-bon have 15T~ kaNpa. Thus, there is no
27Cf. Frellesvig's proposal that teNka is EOJ pre-raised form of WOJ tiNkO 'baby' < *ti-no k6
'milk/breast baby' (Frellesvig, p.e.).
76 MAN'YOSHO
evidence for RJ~ kaNpa until Edo period copies of the Man 'yoshu. Moreover,
the Hosoi-bon, the Katsuji fukun-bon, the Katsuji mukun-bon, and the Kan 'ei-
bon all represent the same line of manuscript development. On the other hand,
the oldest Heian period manuscripts Genryaku kohon and Ruiju koshu that
represent two independent lines of manuscripts both have iBZ RJ paka. Thus,
identical corruption of the text in the same line of textual development is much
more likely than independent preservation of an archaic form. Paka is further
supported by Sengaku's commentary, Man 'yoshu chushaku. Nevertheless, most
Man 'yoshU scholars prefer to follow RJ~ kaNpa in Edo copies, because they
argue that the reading arisiNpaka or arisipaka does not make sense in the poem
(Takagi et al. 1959: 417), (Kojima et al. 1973: 457), (Tsuchiya 1977.7: 240),
(Mizushima 1986: 111), (Ito 1997: 332), (Satake et al. 2002: 322). Nakanishi
chooses arisiNpaka and explains it as a corruption of ar-i-s-eNpa ka 'is it
because that [maiden] existed?' (1981: 250). This is difficult to accept, because
non-final PJ *ia normally becomes -a- in Simotupusa EOJ, but -e- in WOJ, cf.
PJ *-ki ar-i > WOJ -ker-i, but Simotupusa EOJ -kar-i (20.4388). Kubota
chooses arisipaka, but notes that arisikaNpa would be easier to explain. He
further proposes that ka in arisipaka as an interrogative particle ka, but does not
provide any explanation for pa (1967: 163). Omodaka also chooses arisipaka
and thinks thatpaka was a noun meaning 'time' (1977.14: 66). However, there
is no word paka 'time' in either WOJ or EOJ. 1 think that paka can actually be
an Ainu loan: pahaw 'rumor, gossip', attested in Southwestern Hokkaido
dialects (Hattori 1964: 58). Note that there is a clear textual connection with the
preceding poem, which also involves a gossip situation.
EOJ osu-pf 'rocky shore side': cf. EOJ osi-pe id.' in 14.3359 (a poem from
SuruNka province). See also the commentary to 14.3359.
14.3386 (W)
*Jt . Origtnal text
(1) 1]\{;~Hm~ (2) RJ R,~)JDfDtit-'¥- (3) 1]\fg:~JH~::'£ (4) ~~l:iJ*z1~-'¥
(5) JJ 1]\~ Cj *-lli-a
f&~ O).~ r ~ . Kana transliteration
(1) '.::.Il C!::,. 2 IJ 0) 2 (2) 7Jvj L.7J'bit-8::- (3) ,.::."- 2T c!:: 2 t 1 (4) -C 2 0 ) 27J'
It L. ~ 1-8::- (5) c!:: 1 I.::. t~ --C 6t) 2J<? t 2
Romanization
(1) nipo-N-t6ri-no (2) KaNtusika wase-wo (3) nipe s-u tomo (4) sono kanasi-ki-
wo (5) to-ni tate-m-e ya mo
Translation
(3) Even though [I] make the food offering (2) of early rice from KaNtusika (1)
(makura-kotoba), (4/5) would [I] let that beloved [of mine] stand outside [the
house]?! [- Certainly not!]
BOOK FOURTEEN 77
Commentary
The poem is clearly written in WOJ: we would expect adjectival attributive -ke,
not -kf in Simotupusa EOJ.
On nipo-N-tori '~ebe', see the commentary to 5.794. Here it is used as a
makura-kotoba ({taP], permanent epithet) to placename KaNtusika, since OJ
kaNtuk- 'to dive' has assonance with KaNtusika.
On KaNtusika see the commentary to 14.3349.
Nipe is a food offering made to gods, usually of the new rice. Mizushima
points out that this offering was normally done by women, and it was a taboo to
let men inside the house when this offering was done. Thus, the author of this
poem is a woman, and the situation presents the violation of this taboo
(Mizushima 1986: 113-14). There is another Azuma poem, 14.3460, where this
taboo is preserved. Omodaka also indicates that this poem might have an
allusion to the famous legend from Pitati Fudoki, where the god-ancestor is
denied the hospitality by the Fuji mountain deity during the festival of the new
harvest (Omodaka 1977.14: 68), but since the volcano deity probably was male,
it is unlikely.
14.3387 (E)
*X
(I)
. Original text(2)
*~~~iit~ E13PJ~~,~£J::tX (3) PJj),~,1JDJJ (4) af*JJj)§?BL~,
(5) ~af~PJ~¥&:~
f.&~ Oylf ~ r
C • Kana transliteration
(1) m(J) 2:Jo ~ 21tf (2) I'P7.PU:' 1 ~ t 2 iJ~ (3) iJ~.rj LiJ~(J) 2 (4) ~ ~ (J) 2
/)~. 1 Ii L (5)~~fiJ~J:: lliU
Romanization
(1) a-no oto se-Ns-u (2) yuk-am-u koma moNka (3) KaNtusika-no (4) mama-no
tuNk-i-pasi (5) yam-aNs-u kayop-am-u
Translation
(2) [I] want a stallion, which would go (I) without making any noise with its
hoofs. (5) [I] would [then] visit [my beloved's place] without stopping (4) at the
wooden plank bridge over the cliffs (3) ofKaNtusika.
Commentary
Line one is hypermetric (jiamari, +~ lJ ), but this probably was not the case in
pronunciation, as a-no oto was likely to be pronounced [anoW].
EOJ a is the original OJ word for 'foot, leg'. WOJ free form asi 'id.'
presents some opaque suffix -si, and WOJ bound form a- occurs only in
compounds, e.g. aNpumf 'stirrups' « *a-no pum-i 'foot-GEN step-NML'),
ayupf 'leg cords' « a-yup-f 'leg-tie-NML).
In spite of the etymologically present diminutive prefix ka- in kama < *ko-
uma, this word does not mean 'small horse', but 'stallion'.
78 MAN'yOSHU
Translation
Four poems above are from Simotupusa province
Commentary
On Simotupusa province see the commentary to 14.3349.
Romanization
(1) Tukupa ne-no (2) ne-ro-ni kasuml wi (3) suNkl-kate-n-i (4) iklNtuk-u klmi-
wo (5) wi-ne-te yar-as-an-e
Translation
(2) The mist sits on the smaller peak (1) of Mt. Tukupa (3) and cannot move
away. (4/5) [I] wish [you] would bring [your] sighing lord [here], sleep [with
him], and send [him] back.
Commentary
It is difficult to say for sure whether this poem in in EOJ or in WOJ. The only
possible EOJ form it has is the diminutive suffix -ro in ne-ro 'small peak' that is
predominantly E01. On the diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to
14.3351. I am inclined to treat this text as an EOJ one, but with some
reservations.
On Mt. Tukupa see the commentary to 14.3350.
The Genryaku k6hon in line five has i-ne- ({jT:tfJi), while all other
manuscripts have wi-ne- (~tfJi). Like other Man 'y6shU scholars, I go along with
the majority of manuscripts here. There are two reasons to believe that in spite
BOOK FOURTEEN 79
of it being the oldest surviving manuscript, the Genryaku k6hon has a mistake
here. First, by the end of the Heian period initial i- and wi- already have merged
as Ii-I. Second, to the best of my knowledge, *i-ne- with the prefix i- is not
attested either in EOJ or WOJ. The phrase i ne- 'to sleep a sleep' will not fit
into the context of this poem, either.
Both Omodaka (1977.14: 70) and Mizushima (1986: 116) treat wi-ne- as 'to
sleep together'. Doubtlessly, this compound has such a meaning, but it also
means 'to bring someone somewhere and sleep together' (Omodaka et al. 1967:
825). I prefer this second meaning in my translation and interpretation, because
the location in question is the smaller (female) peak ofMt. Tukupa, the famous
site of ulaNkakf ~ kaNkapf ritual orgies.
Romanization
(I) ima-Nka kaNta (2) iya t6po s6k-i-n-u (3) Tukupa yama (4) kakure-n-u pota-
ni (5) saNte pa pur-i-te-na
Translation
(I) The gate of my beloved['s house] (2) became more and more distant. (4)
While [I] am not hidden by (3) Mt. Tukupa, (5) I wish you would wave [your]
sleeve [at me].
Commentary
It is difficult to say for sure whether this poem is in EOJ or in WOJ. The only
evidence for the EOJ nature of this poem is the misspelling of pOlo 'time' as
polo, which would be unlikely in earlier WOJ. I am inclined to treat this text as
an EOJ one, but with some reservations.
On Mt. Tukupa see the commentary to 14.3350.
The act of a woman waving her sleeve to a man who departs on a journey
represented not just saying 'good-bye', but a magical performance directed at
sending one's own soul to protect the traveler, and at the same time taking his
soul back to herself for protection (Mizushima 1986: 118-19).
80 MAN'YQSHO
Romanization
(1) Tukupa ne-ni (2) ka-ka nak-u wasi-no (3) ne-nomY-wo ka (4) nak-i-watar-i-
n-am-u (5) ap-u to pa na-si-ni
Translation
(3/4) Shall [I] just continue to cry loudly, (2) like an eagle crying caw-caw (1)
at Tukupa peak, (5) because there is no [chance] of [even] thinking to meet
[you]?
Commentary
This poem does not have any EOJ distinctive features.
On Mt. Tukupa see the commentary to 14.3350.
WOJ ka-ka is onomatopoetic word for the voice of crows and eagles. Cf.
MdJ kii-kii or gii-gii.
Mizushima points out that wasi 'e~gle' in this poem is probably not inuwasi
(7\:1;) 'golden eagle', but owasi (XX) 'Steller's sea-eagle', a migratory bird
that breeds in the northern regions of Asia, such as Kamchatka, and comes to
Japan around the end of November or December (1986: 120).
Cf. the appearance of wasi 'eagles' in 9.1759, a famous poem describing
utaNkakf ~ kaNkapf ritual.
The first two lines serve as a poetic introduction (fo, ff:) to the rest of the
poem.
Mizushima interprets to in line five ap-u to pa na-si-ni as a contraction of to
ip-u koto 'DV say-ATTR matter' (1986: 120). However, since to is a defective
verb that means by itself 'to say' or 'to think' (Vovin 2009a: 554-58),1 treat it
here as the verb 'to think'.
14.3391 (W)
*j( . Original text
(1) %r.1Bl:ffJ\/J\ (2) ~fXl:t1]\~fH8¥JTE (3) ~z{lIHj[J$f (4) ~i0PJmE~fX::§ (5) 1£
:ffJ\ J~JJf ~ R 1]\
{&~ Oy. '! r
l, • Kana transliteration
<
(1) ~ 1'i:o'I~ (2) ~ 2 ;6~lJ' 1 I~l:f. 1 ~ Q (3) lb l, I~~~ (4) lb l,;6'Q ~ 2
;6~ t d5) ~:o'l:f. 1 *-- 2 ft. <I~
Romanization
(1) Tukupa ne-ni (2) soNkap-i-ni mi-y-uru (3) Asipo yama (4) asi-k-ar-u tONka
mo (5) sane mi-ye-n-aku n-i
BOOK FOURTEEN 81
Translation
(5) Although [1] cannot see at all (4) that [I had] any bad faults, (3) [like] Asipo
(Bad [rice] ear) mountain (2) that is seen in the back (1) of Tukupa peak, [why
did he break up with me?]
Commentary
This poem does not have any EOJ distinctive features.
On Mt. Tukupa see the commentary to 14.3350.
Omodaka et al. consider soNkapi 'back, background' to be a noun and derive
it from so- 'back' and kapi 'gorge' (1967: 399). This might be reasonable given
the fact that this is the only form in which this word occurs. However, if
soNkapf 'back, background' were a true noun, we would expect *Tukupa ne-no
soNkapi with the genitive case marker -no, not Tukupa ne-ni soNkapf with the
locative case marker -ni. This syntax indicates that soNkap-i is likely to be a
nominalized form of a verb. The obvious candidate for derivation is then so-
'back' and mukap- 'to face', the latter contracting to Nkap- in this compound.
Admittedly, there is another almost identical case, when soNkapf appears to be
used as a noun: saki take-no soNkap-f-ni ne-si-ku 'the fact that I slept in the
back like split bamboo' (7.1412), but it probably reflects the fact that due to the
limited nature of its usage, soNkapf started to be perceived as a noun. But in yet
another case, soNkap-f appears to behave like a verbal noun: yama suNke-no
soNkap-f-ni ne-si-ku 'the fact that [we] slept turning away [from each other like
leaves] of a mountain sedge' (14.3577). I think that the verbal origin is more
likely, although it is necessary to remember that soNkap-f is attested only in
three phrases discussed above: soNkap-f-ni mi-y-uru 'that is seen in the back',
soNkap-f-ni mf-tutu 'looking continuously to the back', and soNkap-f-ni ne-si-
ku 'the fact thaUwe] slept turning away [from each other)'.
Mt. Asipo (J¥.~UJ) is mentioned in the description of NipiNpari district (tT
iil-W) in Pitati province in Fudoki (Akimoto 1958: 36). Mt. Asipo is not
mentioned in any other Man 'y6shii poems. It corresponds to modem mountain
Ashio (,@~UJ, 628 m) that straddles the border between Niihari county (tTiil-
W) and Makabe county (~~W) (Nakanishi 1985: 416). It is located 7 km
north-north-east from Mt. Tukupa, and it also might be the case that Mt. Asipo
collectively referred to both mountains Ashio and Kaba-san (;1]p7'& UJ, 709 m),
the latter being located 9 km north from Mt. Tukupa (Mizushima 1986: 121).
There is clearly a play on words (kaketoba, };IHij]) with the word asi in this
placename: asi-po 'reed ear' and 'bad ear'.
The first three lines serve as a poetic introduction (jo, ff:) to the rest of the
poem.
82 MAN'YOsHO
Romanization
(1) Tukupa ne-no (2) ipa mo tONtOro n-i (3) ot-uru miNtu (4) yo-ni mo tayur-
an-i (5) wa-Nka omop-an-aku n-i
Translation
(5) Although [I] did not think [about it], (4) [my love for you] will not cease for
a life time (3) like falling water (2) or rumbling rocks (1) at Tukupa peak.
Commentary
On Mt. Tukupa see the commentary to 14.3350.
Onyo-ni ma 'in one's life time' and tayur-an-i 'cease-NEG-INF' in line four
see the commentary to 14.3368.
In the description of Tukupa district in Fudoki there is a mention of steep
rocks around the eastern peak of Tukupa and a spring that runs both in summer
and winter (Akimoto 1958: 40). Mizushima notes that this might be
Minanogawa river (~-g;) I') that runs between male and female peaks of
14.3393 (W)
*X . Original text
(1) %l:iBltf}\JJ (2) -'¥-"5=€;~q:1Jg£t7]\ (3) =€;fljlRlc~J{~ (4) iBltIB=€;fLH£t (5) ~
.Iff ~ ~iiJ J:;I::; 7]\ ~t'&
fBt~ Oy. ~ r L. • Kana transliteration
(1) -'J <lihO) 2 (2) ~-C t 1 .:. 20) 2 t 21.:: (3) t 1 V) '" 1 T % (4) lili
It \ t 1.h ~.• 2 t 2 (5) t~ '!:t 2 it'J {} 1 I.:: ft 1 Q
Romanization
(1) Tukupa ne-no (2) wote mo kono mo-ni (3) mor-i-pe suwe (4) papa i-mor-e-
NtOmo (5) tama so ap-i-n-i-ker-u
Translation
(4) Although [my] mother guards [me] here (3) [as if] placing guards (2) on this
side and that side (1) of Tukupa peak, (5) [our] souls have already united.
BOOK FOURTEEN 83
Commentary
There are no EOJ distinctive features in this poem.
On Mt. Tukupa see the commentary to 14.3350.
Prefix i- is a marker of a directive-locative focus. For details see Vovin
(2009a: 561-68).
Since the government authorities were continuously cracking down on
utaNkakf - kaNkapf ritual orgies on Mt. Tukupa, I believe that the mentioning
of the guards on both sides of Tukupa peak probably includes a hint of these
crackdowns. Then the poem can be understood along the following lines: 'my
mother guards me from having sex with you like the guards guarding both sides
of Mt. Tukupa. In spite of this, our souls have already united' .
*:t
(1)
. Original
14.3394 (E)
tc~
text
g =Bflli (2) -iL R~iBttf]\ g flli (3) 13[JffJ?Jf5:6" (4) fp~JU~: ~q:~~~
(5) ~~-iL riJ~G$~~.
Romanization
(1) sa-N-koromo-no (2) woN-Tukupa ne-ro-no (3) yama-no saki (4) wasura-ko-
Npa koso (5) na-wo kake-n-ap-am-e
Translation
(4) Only when [I] forget (3) the mountain protrusion (2) of the smaller Tukupa
peak (1) that is [dressed] in fifth lunar month garment, (5) I will not repeatedly
call [your] name.
Commentary
This poem contains several distinctive EOJ features, such as the negative suffix
-(a)n- preceding iterative suffix -ap- in a verb (the order is opposite in WOJ),
and EOJ specific infinitive form wasura- (cf. WOJ wasure-).
Sa-N-koromo-no 28 is traditionally considered to be a permanent epithet
(makura-kotoba, tt~jij) to wo 'cord' and wo(N)-, diminutive prefix (Omodaka
1977.14: 75). However, since utaNkakf- kaNkapfritual orgies were conducted
in spring and fall, I believe that it is transparent here and could be translated
literally as '[dressed] in fifth lunar month garments'. On the analysis of sa- in
sa-N-koromo as 'fifth [lunar month]' see the commentary to 5.897. On utaNkakf
- kaNkapf ritual see the brief commentary to 14.3350. Much more detailed
information will be provided in the commentary to MYS 9.1759.
On Mt. Tukupa see the commentary to 14.3350.
14.3395 (E)
*X . Original text
(1) -Sf- R!JdBUJ (2) tfJ\ g1]\ttlVA.~,'l!:!, (3) 3'ln::tjl::w\iW (4) f5:iWjI::~fIJ?'G3JZ'
(5) ;§t~tfJ\::R!ttPJM
f.OC~ (7).~ r L- • Kana transliteration
(1) ~--:5< liO) 2 (2) P.iS 21~"')< tc. L (3) (bO 1 tc.J:. iii (4) ~ fitc.f~ ~
rb. ~ (5) ;t tc. P ""( tJ' ZF' t
Romanization
(1) woN-Tukupa-no (2) ne-ro-ni tuku tas-i (3) apiNta yo pa (4) sapaNta nar-i-n-
o-wo (5) mata ne-te-m-u kamo
Translation
(2) The moon rises at the peak (1) of the smaller Mt. Tukupa. (3/4) Because the
nights between [the nights when we sleep together] became many (5) I wonder
whether [we] would sleep together again?
Commentary
This poem is clearly written in EOJ.
On Mt. Tukupa see the commentary to 14.3350.
On the diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
EOJ tuku 'moon' (cf. WOJ tuki) represents a different path of development
from PJ *tukuy: it is derived from the latter by dropping the final *-y, while PJ
*-uy contracts into -f in WOJ.
EOJ palatalization ti > si in tas-i 'rises and' is not typical for WOJ (cf. WOJ
tat-i).
EOJ has perfective attributive -n-o (cf. WOJ -n-uru). It is clearly an
attributive and not a final form here, since it is followed by an accusative case
marker -woo Although the character ~ can be used for both syllables Inu! and
Inol, I take it as Inol, since EOJ has the attributive form -0 in other cases as well.
For perfective attributive -n-o see also 14.3461.
EOJ sapaNta 'many' corresponds to WOJ sapa 'id.' See also 14.3354 and
the commentary to 14.3354.
Most commentators are unanimous in their opinion that moon mentioned
here refers to a new moon indicating the beginning of a new month (Kubota
1967: 169), (Kojima et al. 1973: 459), (Tsuchiya 1977.7: 248), (Nakanishi
1981: 252), (Mizushima 1986: 127), (Omodaka 1977.14: 77), (Ito 1997: 343),
although some others are non-committal (Takagi et al. 1959: 419), (Satake et al.
2002: 325). I side with the non-committal group, and would go even further
saying that although the new moon can technically rise, it certainly cannot be
seen in the sky. Furthermore, there is an opinion that the moon here also refers
to the beginning of the menstruation of the female author of the poem
(Mizushima 1986: 127), (Ito 1997: 343). Given the fact that the WOJ
expression tukr tat- 'moon rises' refers to beginning of menstruation and is
attested at least twice (KK 27 ,28), the play on words (kakekotoba, ~iiJ) m
between 'moon' and 'menses' here is quite likely. See also 14.3476.
ApfNta yo is literally 'nights between' indicating the nights between the
nights that the lovers slept together.
*X . Original text
14.3396 (W)
(1) -'¥-:mtAtElJJ (2) Z*,.-~~t~~J#~ (3) ~:m1!flj~~ (4) § S3 PJ:tk-'¥- ~$
(5)tctfJ\M .&*tA1J\
iOC~ 0):1: ~ T L- • Kana transliteration
<
(1) :a:---::5 IjO) 2 (2) Uf 2 ~ 1 .:. 20) 2 ~ J:: 1 (3) t-::.. -'J c.. 2 I) 0) 2 (4) th 2 vp
;6, it :a:-7:f. 1 tr (5) ~ tl~' G it <I;:
Romanization
(1) woN-l)kupa-no (2) siNke-ki ko-no rna-yo (3) tat-u tori-no (4) ME-yu ka
NA-wo MI-m-u (5) sa-ne-Ns-ar-an-aku n-i
86 MAN'Y0SHO
Translation
(5) Although it is not that [we] did not sleep [together] there, (4) will [I just]
look with [my eyes] at you (3) [being] like a bird flying up (2) from the densely
[grown] trees (1) at the smaller Tukupa [peak]?
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
On Mt. Tukupa see the commentary to 14.3350.
Mizushima cites several theories explaining the connection between tori
'bird' and me 'eye' in this poem, e.g. tracing the latter to me 'mesh (of a net)',
or -me, suffix found in several birds' names (1986: 129), but 1 believe that these
are far-fetched, and follow Omodaka who indicates that what is meant here is a
simple opposition between sleeping together and meeting one's lover only
visually and briefly (1977.14: 78). Of course, one can see a bird flying up only
for a short time.
14.3397 (E)
*::sc . Original text
(1) J:t~~~mc (2) *ftPI~~~J?J (3) ~1#=8~q:~ (4) J:;l:*ti1Sl~~@itL
(5) ~iiJft PI ~~ttftt
Translation
(4) When [one] pulls (3) the jewel seaweeds (2) in the Nasaka sea (1) that is in
Pitati, (4) [they] break, (5) [but] why should [we] break up?
Commentary
On Pitati province see the commentary to 14.3351.
. Nasaka (W:~) sea corresponds to th~ southern part of present-da~}nland
Kitaura bay (::Il:rm) located between KaSlma (Jm~m) and Namekata (n::1Jm)
counties in Ibaraki prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 470). This is the only poem in
the Man 'yoshu, where the placename Nasaka appears. Sengaku's commentary
mentions that the placename Nasaka is derived from the fact that in the old
BOOK FOURTEEN 87
times during high tide the waves in the bay started to move in the opposite
direction (Satake 1981: 378).
On the EOJ interrogative pronoun aN- 'what, why' see the commentary to
14.3379.
Translation
The ten poems above are from Pitati province
Commentary
On Pitati province see the commentary to 14.3351.
The first nine poems of this sequence, 14.3388-14.3396 are clearly
connected to Mt. Tukupa, and all of them being love poems, have likely some
connection with utaNkaki ~ kaNkapi rituals. On utaNkaki ~ kaNkapi ritual see
the brief commentary to 14.3350. Much more detailed information will be
provided in the commentary to MYS 9.1759.
14.3398 (E)
*X
(1)
. Original text
}t~*~JJ (2) ~q:~iBt~E13~;£ (3) iBt1)\,~,~flli (4) {jl',~,#JJ~~fX
(5) pq:~~~M~tfJ\
Translation
(1/2) Even if all the people stop talking [to me], (5) [I] wish that (4) the maiden
from Isiwi (3) in Panisina (5) would not stop talking [to me].
Commentary
The EOJ linguistic nature of this poem can be established only lexically on the
basis of one EOJ word teNkO 'maiden', on which see the commentary to
14.3384.
The word kata here means 'word, speech'. The expression kata taye-
indicates 'to stop talking to someone', 'to break off the communication'.
Panisina district (:Jillf4W) corresponds to present-day Hanishina county (:Jill
f4W) and Koshoku city (!!:Jillm) in Nagano prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 476),
(Mizushima 1986: 132).
88 MAN'yOSHO
Isiwi C5#) is probably a name of a village in Panisina district, but its exact
location is unknown (Nakanishi 1985: 476), (Mizushima 1986: 132). It is
attested only in this poem in the Man 'yoshii.
Romanization
(1) Sinanu-N-ti pa (2) ima-no par-i-miti (3) kariNpa ne-ni (4) asi pum-asim-una
(5) kutu pa pak-e wa-Nka se
Translation
(4) Do not let [your] [bare]feet step (3) on roots ofsakura (2) at the road cleared
now (1) on the way to Sinanu. (5) Put on your shoes, my beloved.
Commentary
The EOJ linguistic nature of this poem can be established on the basis of EOJ
kariNpa 'sakura [bark]' (cf. WOJ kaniNpa 'sakura bark') and the imperative
form pak-e 'put on!' instead of WOJ pak-e. Mizushima argues that this is an
imperative formpake of the vowel verb pake- 'to make/let put on' (1986: 136),
but 'make shoes to be put on' or 'let shoes to be put on' sounds too strained and
artificial in the given context.
On Sinanu province see the commentary to 14.3352.
The poems in book fourteen have no dates, but as Mizushima notes this
poem might be the only one which can be traced to several possible dates,
because according to Shoku Nihongi, two roads to Sinanu were built in 702, and
713 - 714 AD (1986: 134-36). It remains unclear, however, which road is
meant here.
KariNpa ne-ni in line three is universally explained by all commentators of
the Man 'yoshii as kar-i-N-pane-ni 'cut-NML-DV(ATTR) stump-LOC' (Takagi
et al. 1959: 420), Kubota (1964: 171), (Kojima et al. 1973: 460), (Tsuchiya
1977.7: 252), (Omodaka 1977.14: 80), (Nakanishi 1981: 253), (Mizushima
1986: 134), (Ito 1997: 347), (Satake et al. 2002: 326). However, Kojima et al.
accept this interpretation only with a question mark, and Satake et al. mention
that kar-i-N-pane is not attested anywhere else (2002: 326). Mizushima further
points out that the verb kar- 'to cut' is a WOJ word, not attested in EOJ (1986:
134), but this might not be the case, as kar- is attested in 14.3445, which is a
poem in EOJ. More importantly, pane 'stump' is a hapax legomenon, not
attested anywhere else either in EOJ or in WOJ. Finally, leaving stumps in the
middle of the newly constructed road seems as unreasonable as walking on
BOOK FOURTEEN 89
them even if they are left: stumps should be very visible unless one walks at
night. These facts are quite sufficient to cause a reasonable doubt in the
traditional analysis and interpretation of this line. I believe that ne in kariNpa
ne-ni is probably ne 'root'. It is much easier to imagine tree roots to be left in
the road than tree stumps, especially if the road was designated mostly for
walking and horseback riding rather than for wheeled transport. See 15.3590
and 18.4116 for stepping on rocks and roots while walking on the road. I am
unaware of the existence of any Man 'yoshii poem that describes stepping on
tree stumps. I believe that remaining EOJ kariNpa is a loanword from Ainu
karinpa 'sakura, sakura bark'. In most modem Ainu dialects karinpa means
'sakura bark', while 'sakura' itself is karinpa ni 'sakura bark tree' (Chiri 1976:
118), but in Yakumo dialect in the south of Hokkaido, karinpa may mean both
'sakura' and 'sakura bark' (Hattori 1964: 201). The Yakumo evidence may
point to the fact that Ainu karinpa ni 'sakura bark tree' is a back formation, and
that originally karinpa meant just 'sakura'. One possible contrary piece of
evidence that the primary meaning of Ainu karinpa is just 'sakura bark' is WOJ
kaniNpa 'sakura bark' < Ainu karinpa by regressive nasal assimilation. In any
case, whether EOJ kariNpa ne indicates just 'sakura roots' or 'roots [covered
with] sakura bark', sakura bark is very rough and walking on it barefooted
would not be a pleasant experience. See 14.3486 on one of the usages of the
sakura bark.
Pum-asim-una (1I1at~-$*) 'do not let step' in line four appears in all old
manuscripts except the Genryaku kohon, which has pum-as-i-n-am-u (111 at~
-$) 'you will step on' (Mizushima 1984a: 127-28). Takagi et al. (1959: 420),
*
Kubota (1964: 171-72), Nakanishi (1981: 253), Mizushima (1986: 134) and
Omodaka (1977.14: 80-81) follow the Genryaku kohon. While Takagi et al.,
Kubota, Nakanishi, and Mizushima do not provide any justification for their
position, Omodaka argues for pum-as-i-n-am-u on the basis of the fact that all
known examples of the similar usage involve the form asi pum-as-una 'do not
[let] your feet step' with a honorific suffix -as- (1977.14: 81). However, besides
the fact that *asi pum-as-una is actually not attested in the Man 'yoshii, the
causative negative imperative form -as-una is perfectly attested in OJ alongside
with honorific negative imperative -as-una (Vovin 2009a: 844, 864). Besides,
the evidence from different manuscripts is more important than that from only
one, even though this manuscript turns out to be the earliest one, like the
-$ mu and *
Genryaku kohon. I think that the explanation by Kojima et al. that the characters
na were transposed in the Genryaku kohon (1973: 460) is correct.
The same position regarding the priority of multiple manuscripts is supported
by Tsuchiya (1977.7: 252-53), and Ito (1997: 348). Thus, I choose pum-asim-
una in my edition and translation as the correct form.
Romanization
(1) Sinanu-n-ar-u (2) TiNkuma-no KApa-no (3) saNsaresi mo (4) ldmi si pum-i-
te-Npa (5) tama to pirop-am-u
Translation
(4) If [my] lord would have stepped (3) on pebbles (2) in TiNkuma river (1) in
Sinanu, (5) [I] would pick [them] up as jewels.
Commentary
On Sinanu province see the commentary to 14.3352.
TiNkuma river is present-day Tikuma river ( TE!:!J JII) in the north-eastern
part of Nagano prefecture. It originates at Mt. Kobusigatake (1tJ m:1~ 7" fir),
flows through Veda plain (J:. S3 ~±ili) and Nagano plain (-:&!l!f~±fu), and joins
together with Sai river (~J II) in Nagano ciry. Then it flows north to Niigata
prefecture, where it becomes Sinano river (fg7lJII) (Nakanishi 1985: 462). Its
length is 214 km. TiNkuma river is mentioned in the Man'yoshu only in
14.3400 and 14.3401.
The word saNsaresi 'pebble' is a contracted form of saNsare.isi. The former
is attested phonographically only in this poem, and the latter in WOJ, but it
would seem to be a stretch to claim that this poem is in EOJ just on the basis of
this fact, but see below on pfrop- 'to pick up'.
In this poem conditional -(a)Npa introduces a conditional clause, and not a
temporal one in spite of the fact that the main verb contains the tentative suffix
-am-.
All manuscril'ts have pfrop-am-u (It g rEt$) except Ruiju koshu that has
pfrip-am-u (.l:t mYBi .$) (Mizushima 1984a: 129-31). I consider that Ruiju
koshu's form is a mistake, probably influenced by the fact that the WOJ form is
pfrip-. WOJ pfrip- is a clear innovation caused by progressive vowel
assimilation, therefore, contrary to Mizushima (1986: 139), the change is a > i,
and not vice versa. Consequently, pfrop- should be recognized as an EOJ form,
which represents a common retention together with Heian period MJ jira!- 'to
pick up'.
Romanization
(1) TiNkuma-na-ni (2) uk-i-wor-u pune-no (3) koNk-i-[i]Nte-Npa (4) ap-u kotO
kata-si (5) kepu n-i si ar-aNs-u pa
BOOK FOURTEEN 91
Translation
(3) If (2) the boat that is floating (1) in TiNkuma river (3) would row out, (4) it
will be difficult to meet, (5) if [it] is not today.
Commentary
The main problem in this poem is presented by TiNkuma-na in the first line.
There are numerous theories that both Omodaka (1977.14: 83-84) and
Mizushima (1986: 140) discuss, but all of them except one cannot be considered
valid. Omodaka presents the theory of Tsuzuku Tsuneo (iH1im4'-a.t), who
proposed that the character ~ is used according to its Nara and Heian period
Sino-Japanese reading til), which could be used to represent phonographically
the sequence tiNku in the same way as tt=! sal) phonographically represents
saNka. Consequently, ~ af stands for the placename TiNkuma. The remaining
na is nothing but the expected reflex of Ainu nay 'river', with expected loss of
final -y in EOJ in preconsonantal position. Thus, TiNkuma-na is 'TiNkuma river'
(Omodaka 1977.14: 84-86). There are no other EOJ distinctive features in this
poem, but the presence of this Ainu loanword probably makes it to be in EOJ,
and not in WOJ, as the word na 'river' is not otherwise attested in WOJ.
Translation
The four poems above are from Sinanu province
Commentary
On Sinanu province see the commentary to 14.3352.
14.3402 (E)
*X . Original text
(1) J:t~J't.:tL1)\ (2) ~~tI::JJ1:5Zaf-Ij2- (3) r!:i'filmc 13 if!{ (4) ~~~;fX*15e (5)
16::1:5Z 1)\1ff l~)~,tfI)
i&~ Oy. ~ r L" • Kana transliteration
(1) 0 1 0) 2 (·td;: (2) 5 T0 1 0) 2 ~~ ~ (3) :. 1 ~ Q Olli (4) itftO) 2 iJ~
-t- -c: t
1 2 (5) ~ ~I;:b G L-/)
Romanization
(1) pi-no Nkure-ni (2) Usupi-no yama-wo (3) kay-urn pi pa (4) se-na-no-Nka
saNte mo (5) saya n-i pur-as-i-t-u
92 MAN'YQsHD
Translation
(3) On the day when [he] crossed (2) Mt. Usupi (1) at the sunset, (4/5) [my]
dear beloved has clearly waved [his] sleeves [at me).
Commentary
The first line pf-no Nkure-ni is traditionally considered to be a permanent
epithet (makura-kotoba, tX~jij) to Usupi understood as usu 'thin' + pf 'day'
(Omodaka 1977.14: 86), (Mizushima 1986: 141). However, this alleged
makura-kotoba occurs in the whole Man 'yoshU only once -- in this poem.
Therefore, I believe that it simply means 'at the sunset', in spite of the rather
vehement (and unsubstantiated by evidence) objection by Tsuchiya, who calls
this interpretation "blind" (1977.7: 256).
Mt. Usupi probably' corresponds not to the mountains at present-day Usui
mountain pass (1it7KJ!I'F), although such an equation exists (Nakanishi 1986:
428), but to Iriyama mountain pass (A~~) that is located 2-3 kIn south from
Usui mountain pass in Usui county (1it7k~) of Gunma prefecture. Iriyama
mountain pass is also known as 'old Usui mountain pass'. At the height of
1,035 m, Usupi mountain pass in Tosando (-* ~ J]!) region was known
alongside AsiNkara mountain pass in Tokaido (-*$J!'!) region as the two most
difficult places to pass through (Mizushima 1986: 141-42).
The form se-na-no 'beloved-DIM-DIM' in line four is practically unique,
and while -na is a typical EOJ diminutive suffix (Vovin 2005: 212-13), it also
contains a diminutive suffix -no that is attested besides this poem only in
14.3528. Cf., however, imo-na-ro 'beloved-DIM-DIM' in 14.3446 and se-na-na
'beloved-DIM-DIM' in 14.3544 that contain two EOJ diminutive suffixes in a
row. Possibly -na-no in se-na-no is derived by nasal assimilation from -na-ro.
On the sleeve-waving ritual by women see the commentary to 14.3389.
Presumably, the sleeve-waving ritual by men had the same or similar function.
14.3403 (W)
*:;:c
(1)
. Original text
3'C:ftil~F~ (2) J#ftW~PJ~}(!;t (3) R16:J#R& (4) $t}jIf~1jtflj!l!fJ7
(5)1t:R £J: PJ~,'i\:!,£J:
Translation
(1) My longing [for you] (2) is sad even now. (5) And the future, too, is gloomy
(4) like the field of TaNka hidden [in the mountains], (3) [where I use] grass
[for my] pillow!
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
OJ masaka 'now' is a rare word, attested three times in WOJ and three times
in EOJ. Its etymology is obscure. There is a difference in usage between
masaka 'now' and ima 'id.' The former is always used adverbially, while the
latter can be used both adverbially and as a modifier of a following noun (with
the genitive case marker -no attached to ima).
Kusa makura 'grass pillow' is a permanent epithet (makura-kotoba, tt~lI])
for the word taNpi 'journey' (see the commentary to 15.3612). The prevalent
opinion is that it is used here because both placename TaNka and taNpi
'journey' share the same initial syllable Ita! (Mizushima 1986: 144), but I think
that journey could lead the author though TaNko field as well, hence the usage
of kusa makura 'grass pillow' may be metaphoric, implying the fact that the
author is traveling.
TaNko area corresponds to present-day Yoshii town ("5 tt aJT) in Tano
county (~!fm) of Gunma prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 459). Mizushima adds
that TaNko was the name of district in Kamitukeno province.
OJ ir-i-no is a 'field hidden between the mountains' (Omodaka et aI. 1967:
106).
My interpretation of this poem is somewhat different from a traditional one,
which takes the word oku in both its meanings as a word-play on 'back' and
'future' (Omodaka 1977.14: 88) (Mizushima 1986: )43). Note that this
interpretation would require the analysis of -no in ir-i-NO-no as a genitive, and
not a comparative case marker. It would also disrupt the flow of the poem, so I
prefer the interpretation of oku in just one meaning 'future' and -no as a
comparative case marker.
Romanization
(1) Karnitukeno (2) Aso-no rna-so mura (3) kaki-muNtak-i (4) n-ure-NtO ak-an-
u-wo (5) aN-tO ka a-Nka se-m-u
Translation
(4) Although [I] slept [with her] (4) embracing [her], (2) like a bundle of
precious hemp from Aso (1) [in] Kamitukeno, (4) since it was not enough [for
me], (5) what should I do?
Commentary
Kamitukeno (-.t!lff) was one of the Great Provinces under the Ritsuryo code. It
corresponds to present Gunma prefecture. On the Ritsuryo code classification of
Yamato provinces see the commentary to 5.818.
Aso district (~iiJ§m) corresponds to present-day Aso county (~iiJ§m) and
Sano city (1&:!l!fm) of Tochigi prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 417). It was in
Simotukeno province and not in Kamitukeno province, but at some point in
time it is believed to have belonged to the latter or to exist in both provinces
(Mizushima 1986: 146). Omodaka further notes that from a geographical
viewpoint it is more natural for Aso district to have been included in
Kamitukeno rather than in Simotukeno (1977.14: 90).
OJ muNtak- 'to embrace' is probably an earlier form ofWOJ uNtak- and MJ
iNtak- 'id.' On the contrast between PJ *muffi/ n -, *uffi / n -, and *Offi/n - that all
merged in WOJ as um/ n - see Vovin (2005: 56-59).
On EOJ interrogative pronoun aN- 'what, why' see the commentary to
14.3379.
The first two lines are traditionally defmed as a poetic introduction Uo, Ft)
to the rest of the poem (Omodaka 1977.14: 90), (Mizushima 1986: 146).
The comparison of one's beloved with a bundle of hemp might seem
shocking to modern readers, but one should not forget that first-class hemp was
a precious commodity in Ancient Japan.
14.3405 (E)
*Jt . Orig!!tal text
(1) PJ~~*i.~ (2) ~J3t1lli~t7lEfX (3) PJiBllili]\~ (4) £&iBl*iBl~~
(5) lt~:@1lli*}i!'P7
Romanization
(1) Kamitukeno (2) WoNto-no TaNtori-Nka (3) kapa-N-ti-ni mo (4) KO-ra pa
ap-an-am-o (5) pitO-ri noml s-i-te
Translation
(4) [I] want [my] dear girl to meet [me] (5) when [she] is all by herself (3) at the
road along the river (2) in TaNtori at Wonto (1) in Karnitukeno.
BOOK FOURTEEN 95
Commentary
On Kamitukeno province see the commentary to 14.3404.
WoNto and TaNton are believed to be unidentified placenames in
Kamitukeno (Omodaka 1977.14: 91), (Nakanishi 1985: 460, 500), (Mizushima
1986: 148).
On the EOJ verbal attributive -0 see the commentary to 14.3395 and a brief
description of EOJ special grammar in the introduction.
There is some disagreement between modem commentators whether the
author himself wants to meet his girl (Omodaka 1977.14: 91), or he wants his
girl to meet him (Mizushima 1986: 148). Although in WOJ the desiderative
suffix -ana- can express either the desire to perform an action by oneself, or the
desire of the speaker for the addressee to perform an action (Vovin 2009a: 665),
it seems that with the exception of usage found in 9.1781, the primary function
of combination -an-am- consisting of desiderative -ana- with tentative -am- in
both WOJ and EOJ is to express the desire of the speaker for the addressee to
perform an action. Thus, I think that it is quite undeniably the second situation:
the author wants his girl to meet him.
Commentary
We do not know what the book is. This poem is apparently a variant of 14.3405
that will be presented below as 14.3405a.
14.3405a (E)
*X . Ori~al text
(1) RJ~lm*t~ (2) -'¥-!l!fJJ~Hltt~ (3) ~~ii:l1J\-e (4) t!t*~~~*-e
(5) ~mEJ:t~*,'i!!,1J\
Romanization
(1) Kamitukeno (2) Wono-no TaNtori-Nka (3) apa-N-ti-ni mo (4) se-na pa ap-
an-am-o (5) mi-ru pito na-si-ni
Translation
(4) [I] want [my] dear beloved to meet [me] (5) when there is no one who [can]
see [us] (3) at the road along the millet [field] (2) in TaNtOri at Wonto (1) in
Kamitukeno.
Commentary
On Kamitukeno province see the commentary to 14.3404.
The exact location of Wono in present-day Gunma prefecture is not known
(Nakanishi 1985: 500). There were three placenames Wono (spelled as ;Hl!f or
-'f JJ in Wamyosho) in three different districts of Kamitukeno province
(Omodaka 1977.14: 91), (Mizushima 1986: 149).
On placename TaNtori see the commentary to 14.3405.
Japanese scholars believe that apa in line three is the result of the elision of
the initial consonant k- in the word kapa 'river' appearing in the same context in
14.3405, (Omodaka 1977.14: 91), (Tsuchiya 1977.7: 260), (Mizushima 1986:
149). Others take it to be a placename, but still suggest k- > 0- (Takagi et at.
1959: 421), (Kojima et al. 1973: 462). To the best of my knowledge, the shift k-
> 0- is not otherwise attested in the Kamitukeno dialect of EOJ, see also
Shirafuji (1987: 236). Nakanishi treats apa as ap-a, an attributive form of ap-
'to meet' (Nakanishi 1981: 254). Although there is another example of EOJ
attributive in -a in a poem from the Kamitukeno dialect (14.3408), it is strange
to have -N-ti 'GEN-road' after the attributive that can modify a following noun
directly, thus *ap-a ti 'meet-ATTR road' would be expected. I think that the
solution actually lies on the surface: after all, this a variant poem, and it should
not contain all the same words as 14.3405, and indeed it does not as is
demonstrated by line five that is totally different from line five in 14.3405. Apa
in all probability means what it means: 'millet', and just as kapa-N-ti is a 'road
along a river', apa-N-ti is a 'road along a millet [field].'
On EOJ diminutive suffix -na see the commentary to 14.3384.
On the EOJ verbal attributive -0 (misspelled as -0 in this poem) see the
commentary to 14.3395 and a brief description of EOJ special grammar in the
introduction.
14.3406 (W)
*X . Ori£nal text
(1) PJ~t\)*i.~ (2) ft!l!fJJ1LR~9:0 (3) -'fmtW~~ (4) ~ctUltaf~-$~
(5) ~q:~Z~q:5t~£J:
Translation
(3) [I] gather and cook (2) turnip seedlings from Sana (1) in Kamitukena. (4) 1
will wait for [you], (5) even if [you] do not come this year.
Commentary
On Kamitukena province see the commentary to 14.3404.
Sana corresponds to an area along Karasu river (,~J II) in southeastern part
of present-day Takasaki city (iWil1ffitm) in Gunma prefecture (Mizushima 1986:
150), (Nakanishi 1985: 449).
OJ kukutati are seedlings of either a turnip (MdJ kabura), or greens (MdJ
aona) (Omodaka 1977.14: 92), (Mizushima 1986: 150), or a rape plant (MdJ
aburana) (Omodaka et at. 1967: 253-254). In the Wamyi5shO the word kukutati
is defined as • • ffi 'seedlings of greens' (WMS 16.18b). For • • used to
spell OJ awona 'greens' see MYS 16.3825. The etymology of kukutati is
transparent: kuku-, the bound form of WOJ kuki' 'stalk' + tat-i, nominalized
form of verb tat- 'to stand'.
Romanization
(1) Kamitukenf> (2) ma-Nkupasi mata-ni (3) asa PI sas-i (4) makirapasi-mo na
(5) ar-i-tutu MI-re-Npa
Translation
(3) Morning sun shines (2) at the truly beautiful girl (1) [of] Kamitukena. (4)
How blinding [your beauty] is, (5) when [I] continuously look [at you]!
Commentary
On Kamitukena province see the commentary to 14.3404.
The main problem in interpreting this poem is in line two. Premodern
scholars, such as Sengaku and Keichii believed that line two should be read as
maNkupasi mato-ni 'at the beautiful window' (Omodaka 1977.14: 93),
(Mizushima 1986: 151-52). Most modern commentators of the Man 'yi5shu
analyze it as MaNkupa sima to-ni 'at the straights of MaNkupa island' (Takagi
et at. 1959: 422), (Omodaka 1977.14: 93), (Mizushima 1986: 151-52), (Ito
1997: 364), or take an agnostic position (Kojima et at. 1973: 463), (Satake et at.
2002: 329). Two scholars have different opinions: Nakanishi believes that line
two should be analyzed as maNkupasi mato-ni 'at the beautiful circle' (1981:
255), and Tsuchiya thinks that this line should be read either as maNkupasi ma-
98 MAN'YQSHO
to-ni 'at the beautiful person' or maNkupasi ma-kO-ni 'at the beautiful girl' with
Iffl!t /mato/ being either ma-to 'good/real person' or misspelling for ma-ko
'good/real girl' (1977.7: 263). The premodern interpretation has one problem:
although we do not know exactly what 'windows' looked like in Ancient Japan,
presumably there were just slits used for ventilation or illumination by sunlight
(Omodaka et al. 1967: 684). It is highly unlikely that they were any ornate
structures. Therefore it is not quite clear why a window would be described as
'beautiful'. The predominant modem explanation treating line two as MaNkupa
sima to-ni 'at the straits of MaNkupa island' suffers from a setback that the
location of either MaNkupa island, or its straits is unknown, although there is a
theory placing it on Tonegawa river jJ'JtlV II) in the second ward of Chiyoda
town (Tft EEl IHT) in Maebashi city (1'lIJmlm) in present-day Gunma prefecture
(Nakanishi 1985: 484). Nakanishi's theory cannot stand scrutiny, because while
there is an OJ uninflected adjective mato 'round', it is never used as a noun
'circle'. The same is true for both explanations by Tsuchiya. The misspelling
for ma-ko 'good/real girl' must be rejected, because one cannot rewrite texts at
one's whim. OJ ma-to 'good/real person' is otherwise not attested in the texts (it
is actually ma-pito as in 14.3552), and it also violates OJ phonology, since pito
'person' has otsu-rui vowel /0/, and not ko-rui vowel /0/. 30 I believe that the
word mato is a loanword from Ainu: PA *mat-poo 'girl, daughter',3' with
expected loss of C2 in C,C 2 cluster, thus -tp- > -t-. Thus, I interpret maNkupasi
mato as 'beautiful girl'. The presence of such a basic Ainu loanword certainly
makes this poem belong to the EOJ part of the corpus.
EOJ makirapasi 'to be blinding' is a hapax legomenon appearing only in this
poem. It probably consists etymologically of ma- eye', kir- 'to cut', iterative
suffix -ap-, and adjectivizing suffix -asi.
14.3408 (E)
*X
(1)
. Original text
7J\J;t~~1ff(2) tfJ;7J\~iFiJ~UJ~ (3) fp7J\~~fJj (4) ~Z~mUll§lJjjJ
(5) *~7J\PJ~,~,£J:
Romanization
(1) Nipita yama (2) ne-ni pa tuk-an-a-na (3) wa-ni yosor-i (4) pasi-n-ar-u KG-ra
si (5) aya n-i kanasi-mo
30 EO) pita 'person' is attested multiple times in books fourteen and twenty without any single
case of misspelling as *pit6.
31 This word is clearly a compound mat 'woman' + po 'child'. It is attested only in Sakhalin Ainu
dialects: Taraika matpo, Ochiho, Shiraura, Shi.!anusi, Tarantomari, Maoka mahpo, Raichiska
mahpoo (Hattori 1964: 40), (Chiri 1975: 496), (Otsuka et al. 2008: 100-101). The corresponding
form in Hokkaido dialects is mat-ne-po 'woman-COP-child' (Hattori 1964: 40), (Chiri 1975: 496).
BOOK FOURTEEN 99
Translation
(3/4) [My] dear girl who was becoming intimate with me, but stopped halfway
(2) as [she] did not sleep [with me], (1) [like] Mt. Nipita (2) that does not join
[other] peaks, (5) is strangely dear [to me]!
Commentary
Mt. Nipita corresponds to Mt. Kanayama (223 m, ~11J) in the north side of
Kanayama town (~11J IIIJ) in Ota city (:* B3 $) in present-day Gunma
prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 473).
There is a play on words in this poem: ne 'peak' and ne- 'to sleep'.
The EOJ form in V-(a)n-a-na functionally corresponds to WOJ V-(a)n-u-ni
'because/when not doing V'. It is likely to consist etymologically of the
negative suffix -an-, EOJ-specific attributive -a- and EOJ-specific dative-
locative case marker -na. Since verbal and nominal morphology do not mix in
OJ, EOJ locative -na cannot follow the negative *-(a)na- directly, and there
must be some intermediate nominalizing morpheme. I believe that this
morpheme is EOJ-specific and a rare attributive in -a, on which see the
commentary to 14.3526.
EOJ wa-ni 'I-DAT' is not attested in WOJ (Vovin 2005: 220-21).
OJ pasi is 'interval, between'. See also] 4.3490.
*X . Original text
14.3409 (E)
(I) {¥w{lf:gJy\ (2) *MZR£J:{¥~~ (3) f3JP~MZRR (4) lt~1f~~iBl1h
(5) {1Mtfr;~*7Jm
-fBt~ OYi!f ~ r
L- • Kana transliteration
<
(1) V\7p116 21::. (2) lb~ t 2v\0~' 1 (3) iJ~~~"'5< (4) {} J ~ 2~ 2:B
t::I'ib (5) v\~'tl L-<Ib 2 ~ 1 G
Romanization
(1) Ikapo-ro-ni (2) ama-kumo i-tuNk-i (3) ka-numa-N-tuk-u (4) plto to otap-ap-
u (5) iNsa ne-sime tora
Translation
(2) Heavenly clouds follow [one another] (1) at the small Ikapo mountain (3)
and go down to [its] upper marsh. (4) People are singing all the time. (5) Hey,
let [me] sleep together [with you]!
Commentary
This is one of the most challenging poems in the whole Man 'yoshii. Only lines
one and two, as well as most of line five are transparent. The final element tora
in line five and lines three and four are opaque. Consequently, it is no wonder
that there are as many interpretations of these opaque parts as commentators of
100 MAN'yOSHU
the Man 'yoshu. There are three possible solutions: these parts may consist of
hapax legomena in EOJ, or they can be foreign elements. It is also possible that
there is a mixture of OJ with another language here. I believe that it is probably
the third possibility, and rather than discuss in detail all the conflicting
proposals by Japanese scholars, I will present below the justification for my
own interpretation.
Ikapo corresponds to mountainous area in the southwest ofIkaho town (fjT-w
1:Jf:fllT) in Gunma county (~,1i'§ W) of present-day Gunma prefecture. It also
includes Misato town (~~llrT) and Haruna town (~1; lllT) (Nakanishi 1985:
421). Mizushima also notes that Ik~po-r6 mountain (-ro is a diminutive)
probably refers to Haruna volcano (m1; ~, 1391 m) that has a lake in its
caldera (1986: 154).
On the diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
Prefix i- is a marker of a directive-locative focus. For details see Vovin
(2009a: 561-68).
Ka-numa in line three may be a place name 'deer marsh' (Jmill), as Kamochi
Masazumi proposed (Kamochi 1912: 51). However, since this p1acename is not
attested otherwise, I would like to entertain a different possibility. While OJ
numa is certainly 'marsh', the preceding element ka, I believe, is a borrowing
from Ainu ka 'top (not detached)'. Therefore, ka-numa is 'upper marsh'.
Practically all scholars see to in pito to in line four as EOJ form of the focus
particle so (cf. pito so, which appears in 14.3518 in the almost identical line)
(Omodaka 1977.14: 97), (Mizushima 1986: 156). There are four other cases that
support the identification of EOJ to as a cognate of WOJ so: 14.3425 (a poem
from Simotupusa), 14.3561 (an unidentified poem), 20.4385 (a poem from
Simotupusa), 20.4430 (a poem from MuNsasi).
The mysterious word otapapu in line four has conflicting interpretations as
either 'be noisy' or 'be quiet' (Omodaka 1977.14: 97), (Mizushima 1986: 156).
None will work here unless some significant 'corruption' explanations are
involved. I suppose that the initial 0 may be an EOJ old unraised vowel, which
is otherwise found in WOJ as u. Consequently, the WOJ corresponding form
with a raised vowel is utapapu, which easily recognizable as an iterative form
utap-ap-u 'to sing continuously' of the verb utap- 'to sing'. Incidentally, Proto-
RyiikyUan reconstructions are *Uta 'song' and *Utawi- 'to sing' (Thorpe 1983:
328), with the capital *u demonstrate that the PJ form might have either initial
*0- or *u-. What is important, however, is that Proto-RyiikyUan forms cannot be
traced back to PJ *u with certainty. If my proposal is right, then EOJ offers
evidence for PJ *ota 'song', and not for *uta.
The beginning of line five is transparent: iNsa ne-sime 'hey let [me] sleep'
with -sime being the causative imperative form. The word t6ra, also appearing
in the same context in 14.3518, is opaque. I think that it is a borrowing of Ainu
tura 'together'. The only weak point of this explanation is that Ainu has u, and
not 0, but it might be just a minor irregularity.
The interpretation I propose allows us to view this poem as an utaNkaki -
kaNkapi ritual poem, where singing exchange was followed by sexual
intercourse. On utaNkaki - kaNkapi ritual see the brief commentary to 14.3350.
Much more detailed information will be provided in the commentary to MYS
9.1759.
BOOK FOURTEEN 101
14.3410 (E)
;;$:::SC • Orig!.nal text
(1) fjl"w*~fj1g (2) !f.l:tF7~m~.& (3) tfJ\~cg1J\ (4) ~R~~;/JOtfJ\~
(5) J#ti:PJ,~,~;/JO~
Translation
(5) If the present is good, (4) do not worry about the future (3) [so] intensely, (2)
[like] the fields of alders that line up (1) the little Ikapo [mountain].
Commentary
On Ikapo mountain see the commentary to 14.3409.
On the diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.335l.
OJ pari 'alder' (MdJ hannoki (/'\ /" / ~). Alnus Japonica) is a tall
deciduous tree (15-20 m high, approximately 60 cm in diameter) that grows
everywhere in Japan. It has long oval pointy leaves that have tomentum on their
down side. It has male flowers on the tip of branches and female flowers on the
downside of branches that bloom in February - March. Brown oval-shaped
fruits ripen in October - November. Both fruits and bark of alder were used to
produce dyes and tannin.
First three lines constitute a poetic introduction (jo, Ff:) to the rest of the
poem.
OJ kane- means 'to think about future', 'to worry about future'.
On OJ masaka 'now' see the commentary to 14.3403.
On EOJ conditional adjectival form -k-aNpa see the commentary to 14.3383.
14.3411 (E)
;;$:::SC • Original text
(1) ~Mfj1gtfJ\1J\ (2) -9-gg~~~HtC5 (3) lj.~JHLMt~ (4) ~iiJ1]\R~wrRR
(5) ~~~PJ:J§-9- i51J\
{&:~ O).~ r L- • Kana transliteration
(1) tc.:::" 1 0) 2tll.: (2) ~ 2it--:5f,tfJ:-'"' 2-C (3) ~ 2-ttu::" 2 t 1(4) ;;bl.: <~
<
L--:5 (5) -f: 20) 2iI~f:I ~ 2~ If':
Romanization
(1) TaNka-no ne-ni (2) yose(NML)-N-tuna pape-te (3) yos-ure-NtOma (4) ani
k-u ya siNtuk-u (5) sono kapo yo-ki-ni
102 MAN'yOSHU
Translation
(1/2/3) Though [I try] to draw [him] near, stretching draw-up rope [to him], (1)
[like] to TaNka peak (4) will [he] come -- oh, no! (4/5) because his hidden face
is beautiful. ..
Commentary
On !aNk? see the cOIJ1!11entaJY. to 14.3403. TaNka peak corresp~mds ~ither to
Ushtbushtyama mountam (tj::1j<;:W, 491 m) or to J0r-ama mountam (.l}jXw, 415
m) in the southern part of present-day Yoshii town ( p #IBT).
The first three lines describe a kunibiki (00 51 ~) ritual, which has the
purpose to augment the lands by dragging the pieces of other lands towards
one's own land. It is described in the Izumo Fudoki and in the Norito (Omodaka
1977.14: 99). Here it is used as metaphor for dragging one's lover or husband
home.
OJ yose-N-tuna is a rope for pulling over other lands used in the kunibiki
ritual.
Only the Genryaku kohon has Wi' RI)... siNtuku, all other manuscripts have Wi'
RZ . Wi' Rit siNtusi. Since siNtusi makes no sense, 1 follow the Genryaku
kohon. OJ siNtuk- means 'to submerge', in the sense 'to be hidden' (Omodaka
1977.14: 99).
There is a problem in line five. Ruiju koshu has PT~ kapa, also glossed in
kana as kapa. Koyo ryaku ruiju shO has kapa in kana and no man 'yogana. Both
the Nishi honganji-bon and the Kishu-bon have PTfE kapa, but gloss it in kana
as kapo. Japanese scholars believe t4-at Genryaku kohon has PT~ kao, but the
kana gloss is kapa. Only quite late Oya-bon has PTm. The Japanese scholarly
tradition starting from Sengaku follows the reading kapo that is interpreted as
'face'. While it is difficult to decide, because most of the oldest manuscripts
agree on kapa, PT~ kao found in Genryaku kohon can only be a misspelling of
kapo, not kapa. This is a decisive argument in favor of kapo. Another argument
in favor of kapo is a paleographic one: m as a phonogram for po occurs only in
book fourteen, and out of twelve attestations two are in Kamitukena poems
(14.3411 and 14.3423), two in poems from Mitinoku province (14.3426 and
14.3427), and the rest are in unidentified section (14.3450, 14.3453, 14.3473,
14.3478, 14.3520, 14.3525, 14.3539, 14.3552).
Japanese scholars reverse the gender roles here (Omodaka 1977: 99),
(Mizushima 1986: 160), but 1 follow the traditional interpretation by Sengaku,
who maintains that it is a woman who tries to draw a man near her (Satake
1981: 384). This makes more sense, since in Ancient Japan men visited women,
but not vice versa.
BOOK FOURTEEN 103
Romanization
(11 KamitukeNO (2) Kuropo-no ne-ro-no (3) kuNsu PA-N-kata (4) kanasi-ke
KO-ra-ni (5) iya-N-sakar-i k-umo
Translation
(5) Oh, [I] came [here] growing more and more distant (4) from [my] dear girl,
(3) [like] vines of kudzu leaves [that crawl away] (2) at Kuropo peak (1) [in]
Kamitukeno!
Commentary
On Kamitukeno (here spelled as Kamitukeno) province see the commentary to
14.3404.
First three lines constitute a poetic introduction (jo, ff:) to the rest of the
poem.
Kuropo corresponds to Akajoyama (lffi ~ ~) mountainous area in Seta
county (~~m) of present-day Gunma prefecture. The highest peak in this
range is Kurobidake (Jl1t-ffi, 18.28 m). At its southern foot there is Kurohone
village (Jlf*t.lHt), and on its northern foot in Tone county (5fJjt~m) there is
Kuroho village (Jlf.:lF::H) (currently called ShOwa village (B?:ffoft)). These two
villages' names still reflect the old placename of Kuropo (Nakanishi 1985: 444).
On the diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
On OJ kuNsu 'kudzu', 'arrowroot' (Puetaria thunbergiana) see the
commentary to 14.3364a.
Opinions differ regarding the analysis of #; ~ Nkata in line three. The
opinion of Edo period commentators that took the whole line three as a
placename should be discarded, as well as the opinion that Nkata is a
'corruption' of NkOto 'like' (Mizushima 1986: 161-62). The majority of
scholars analyze kata in N-kata as 'vine' (Takagi et al. 1959: 423), (Kubota
1967: 180), (Kojima et al. 1973: 464), (Omodaka 1977.14: 99). (Tsuchiya
1977.7: 269), (Nakanishi 1981: 256), (Ito 1997: 369), (Satake et al. 2002: 330).
Mizushima disagrees believing that -kata means 'shape', 'form' (1986: 161-62).
However, if one interprets line three as kuNsu PA-N-kata '[like] the shape of
kudzu leaves', it is not clear how it could fit into the context of the poem: 'I
came far away like the shape' does not make any sense. Therefore, I follow the
majority's opinion and interpret -kata as 'vine'.
OJ kata is a type of kaNtura 'vine' (Omodaka et at. 1967: 190). It is not
exactly clear what particular type it is. It is probably also attested in 10.1928,
10.1929 and 13.3323 as Sana kata 'vine of Sano'. There is also possibility that
it appears in 1.19.
EOJ -ke in kanasi-ke is an adjectival attributive suffix retaining PJ unraised
vowel *e. It corresponds to WOJ -ki.
104 MAN'VOsHO
14.3413 (E)
*X . Original text
(1) JJ~7iiJt13JJ (2) RJi1$l-W:;£}~,~~ (3) ~:t:fQ~1I!. (4) ~~1)\*1flflli@[
(5) *l!ri:mEf1~ RJ ffl:
t&:~ O).~ T 1..-- • Kana transliteration
(1) <!:: :t;l;aq:iO) 2 (2) ;a"I:i-ttt I L Gf' (3) t::t='bt:: 'f) (4) ft.J.;.. ll::.ibb
I
Romanization
(1) Tone-N-KApa-no (2) kapa se mo sir-aNs-u (3) taNta watar-i (4) nami-ni ap-
u-nosu (5) ap-er-u kimi kamo
Translation
(5) [I] have [suddenly] met [my] lord (4) like [one] meets the waves (3) when
[trying] to ford directly (2) without knowing the river rapids (1) in ToneNkapa
river!
Commentary
ToneNkapa river corresponds to present-day Tonegawa river (fIJUJ II) that
originates near Tangoyama mountain (ft1f UJ, 1,809 m) on the border between
Gunma and Niigata prefectures, then flows through the central Kanto region
along the borders between Gunma, Saitama, and Ibaraki prefectures and flows
into the Pacific Ocean in Ch6si city (~E-=f rtf). It is the second longest river (322
km) in Japan after Shinano river, but Tonegawa's basin is the largest in Japan,
occupying an area of 16,640 km2 (Mizushima 1986: 163).
EOJ -n6su is a comparative case marker corresponding to WOJ -nasu. For
details see Vovin (2005: 199-206).
Romanization
(1) Ikapo-ro-no (2) ya-saka-no wiNte-ni (3) tat-u noNsi-no (4) arapar-o-maNte
mo (5) sa-ne-wo sa-ne-te-Npa
Translation
(5) If [we could] have slept there [together] (3/4) until the rising rainbow
appears (2) at the dam eight shaku [high] (1) at little Ikapo [mountain].
Commentary
On Ikapo mountain see the commentary to 14.3409.
On the diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
OJ saka (R, MdJ shaku) is a measure of length. There were two types of
saka in the Nara period. One was big saka C*R, 35.4+ cm, also called Korean
saka Ui'j':J~R)) used in land measurements and surveys, and another was small
saka (/J'\R, 29.6+ cm) used for all other purposes. The height of a dam would
be measured in small saka, therefore we can calculate that it was approximately
2 m 37 cm high.
OJ wiNte 'dam' has a transparent etymology: wi 'well' + -N- < -no, genitive
case marker' + te 'place, replacement', that is 'substitute of a well'. The
motivation is quite clear, because both wells and dams serve as reservoirs to
preserve water.
EOJ noNsi 'rainbow' is cognate to WOJ niNsi 'id.' On the basis of system of
beliefs in Ancient China, Nakanishi suggested that a rainbow may be used as a
symbol for obscene lustful behavior (1981: 256). But it is more likely that
rainbow just symbolizes daytime when lovers could not sleep together and must
part. In any case it is difficult to decide because this is the only time when a
rainbow is mentioned in the Man 'yoshU.
There are two possibilities to analyze EOJ arapar-o 'appear-ATTR'. First,
one might claim that it is a consonantal verb corresponding to WOJ arapare-
'id.', which is a vowel verb. Second, given the fact that the EOJ verbal
attributive -0 appears not only after consonantal and r-irregular verbs, but also
after the perfective auxiliary -n-, which is an n-irregular verb with a mixed
consonantal-vowel paradigm (and in all likelihood probably an original vowel
verb), it is possible that EOJ arapar-o can be explained as a vowel verb
arapare- followed by the attributive -0: arapare- + -0 > arapar-o (cf. the
similar process in WOJ when vowel verbs lose their final root vowel before
attributive -uru). Unfortunately, EOJ arapar- or arapare- is hapax legomenon,
so we do not have a second independent piece of evidence to confirm either the
first or second analysis. I normally hate to rely on intuition alone, but there is no
way around it this time, and it tells me that the second analysis is correct.
On the EOJ verbal attributive -0 see the commentary to 14.3395 and a brief
description of EOJ special grammar in the introduction.
OJ sa- is a prefix on verbs or on nominal phrases indicating that a certain
location is involved. There is also an opinion that it marked intransitive verbs
(Yanagida and Whitman 2009).
Japanese scholars take the first three lines as a poetic introduction Uo, Ff) to
the rest of the poem (Takagi et al. 1959: 423), (Omodaka 1977.14: 101),
(Nakanishi 1981: 256), (Mizushima 1986: 165), consequently treating -no in
noNsi-no as a comparative case marker. I feel that this analysis disrupts the flow
of the poem and leaves the alleged poetic introduction just to hang in the mid-
air without any logical connection to the rest of the poem. Consequently, I treat
-no in noNsi-no as a genitive case marker, marking the subject of the verb
arapar- 'to appear'.
106 MAN'VQSHO
14.3415 (E)
*Jt . Ori~al text
(1) ~~W*t~ (2) {jl-~*JJft~Wf/J\ (3) f:~tJ~Jt (4) ~!A tJ3-F-$~W:
(5) $tfJ\tl&.J1~**1f:t
f&~ (7).~ T L- • Kana transliteration
(1) 7J>'J.;. l"":)~t 20) I (2) V'7J~flo) 26Q';tr;=. (3) 52-=- IfJ:ri' 2 (4) 7J~< =- I
Romanization
(1) Kamitukeno (2) Ikapo-no numa-ni (3) uwe ko-naNki" (4) ka-ku kopi"-m-u to
ya (5) tane motOme-kem-u
Translation
(4) Do [you] think that [I] would long so [much] for (3) a small water leek
planted (2) in the Ikapo marsh (1) [in] Kamitukeno, (5) that [I[ would have
looked for [its] seeds? [- Certainly not!]
Commentary
On Kamitukeno province see the commentary to 14.3404.
On Ikapo mountain and area see the commentary to 14.3409.
OJ naNki" 'water leek' has a transparent etymology: na 'water+ -N- < no,
genitive case marker + ki" 'leek'. On OJ na 'water' see the commentary to 5.902.
Water leek is a flat and smooth glabrous annual grass that grows naturally in the
shallow stagnant water of marshes, rice fields etc. It has dark green leaves about
2-5 cm long which end in an oval-shaped tip and bluish purple six-petal flowers
that bloom from summer to early autumn. Leaves are edible and flowers are
used for dyeing clothes. In this poem water leek is used as a metaphor for a
female lover.
The adnominal function for infinitive is not attested in WOJ, but here uwe
'plant(INF)' is clearly an infinitive form that modifies the following noun.
This poem was most likely composed by a man who got involved with a
woman, and started to regret his suffering in this love affair (Kubota 1967: 182),
(Mizushima 1986: 168).
14.3416 (W)
*:>c
(I)
. Ori~al text
~~W*,,~ (2) ~{*W:f.H~Wf~ (3) {jl-lBt~W& (4) tt~lBtft~*LWi@
(5) *-'¥-~$~~*fJ\
f&~ (7).~ T L- • Kana transliteration
(1) 7J)'J.;. 1 "":)It 2 0) 1 (2) 7J)fl~7J~6Q '10) 2 (3) v'f'iCQ"":) G (4) "(} I 7J~fi6Qn
"":)"":) (5) ~~fJ:t:.*- 2-t" 2n.
BOOK FOURTEEN 107
Romanization
(1) Kamitukeno (2) Kapoya-Nka numa-no (3) ipawi-tura (4) pik-aNpa nure-tutu
(5) a-wo na-taye-so-n-e
Translation
(3/4) If [I] ask [you] out, [come] smoothly [to me, like] a rock vine (2) from
Kapoya marsh (1) [in] Kamitukeno (4) that [comes] smoothlylbeing wet if one
pulls [it]. (5) Do not break up with me, please!
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
On Kamitukeno province see the commentary to 14.3404.
The exact location of Kapoya marsh in present-day Gunma prefecture is
unknown, although different theories abound. Among the three most
representative, one identifies it with Ikapo marsh (see 14.3415), another with a
pond in the precinct of Kawasukune shrine (t:j3~ffiiiJflHlj3t±) in Shibukawa city
(f>ZJ II m), and the third with Itakura marsh (flR::tm), which is the center of the
swampy area in Ora county (E.~m) (Nakanishi 1985: 437), (Mizushima 1986:
168-69). It is also attested in the Kin yo wakashu (KYS 1.72).
On ipawi-tura 'rock vine' see the commentary to 14.3378.
On the double meaning of OJ pik- 'to pull, to invite' see the commentary to
14.3378. This double meaning dictated the necessity to translate line four twice.
The meaning 'to be wet' in the word play (kakekotoba, m~jij) on nure- 'to be
smooth' and 'to be wet' probably involves a sexual metaphor.
This poem is very close textually to 14.3378, although the latter is a poem
from MuNsasi province. See also 14.3501.
Romanization
(1) Kamitukeno (2) Inara-no numa-no (3) opowi-N-kusa (4) yoso-ni MI-si-yo
pa (5) ima koso masar-e
Translation
(5) My [longing for you] is greater now (4) than [at the time] when [I] saw you
in the distance (3) [like] a bulrush (2) from Inara marsh (1) [in] Kamitukeno.
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem, except possibly opowi-N-
kusa 'bulrush'. The name of this plant is not attested in WOJ, but to claim that
this is an EOJ-specific word would be an argument ex silentio, especially given
the existence ofMJ ofowi 'bulrush'.
On Kamitukeno province see the commentary to 14.3404.
The exact location of Inara marsh in present-day Gunma prefecture is
1!~o'"'.:n. According ~o, one hypothesis,. it corresponds to Itakura marsh (tlRi'
lB) m Ora county (B~ml, and accordmg to another to Tatara marsh ($~ .&
¥15) in Tatebayashi city (!B;j:,*m) in present-day Gunma prefecture (Nakanishi
1985: 425).
EOJ opowi-N-kusa 'bulrush' (MdJ futoi (.::kill), Scirpus lacustris) is a
32
perennial plant that grows naturally in swamps and marshes and is also planted
in paddies. It has round stems about 2 m long. Bulrush has brownish
ramentaceous leaves on its bottom part, but no leaves above. Bulrush blooms in
summer with brownish yellow flowers. The stems are used for weaving mats.
*X . Originalg text
Postscript to the poem 14.3417
t$*~ ~AWf W\., t±:\-l:f!
Translation
This is [a poem] from KakinomotO-no asomi PitOmaro's poetic collection.
Commentary
There are two possibilities to explain this postscript. Either a compiler of book
fourteen noticed that in PitOmaro's poetic collection there was an identical
poem to this one, or it was originally recorded in PitOmaro's poetic collection as
an Eastern poem, so a compiler took it from there (Mizushima 1986: 171).
Pitomaro's collection is not preserved per se, but scattered in books two, three,
seven, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, and fourteen of the Man 'yi5shu. It
includes two chi5ka, three sedoka, and between 327 and 349 tanka (depending
on each commentator's count) (Mizushima 1986: 209).
14.3418 (E)
*X
(1)
. Ori~al text
PI~~*t~ (2) f6::!fE8~~fg:~ (3) ftt.&~fg:1J\ (4) ~q:~rEtf6::.::k*lf~
(5) fjl- ~iBt fjl- PI1J\ tt£t
32There are no WOJ attestations. In MJ the word is attested as ofowi (Omodaka et al. 1967: 164).
Besides the more frequent name futoi (J:::1f,ti), it is also known in MdJ as oi (::k1f,ti) and tsukumo
(~!A.'t).
BOOK FOURTEEN 109
Romanization
(1) Kamitukeno (2) SaNO-N-TA-no nape-no (3) muranape n-i (4) ko16 pa
saNtame-t-u (5) ima pa ika n-i se-m-o
Translation
(4) [They] decided the matter [of my marriage] (3) by divination (2) on the
seedlings from Sano paddies (1) in Kamitukeno. (5) What should [I] do now?
Commentary
On Kamitukeno province see the commentary to 14.3404.
On the Sano area see the commentary to 14.3406.
There is a disagreement on how to explain muranape in line three. Some
Japanese scholars take it as 'group seedlings' (Kojima et at. 1973: 465),
(Kubota 1967: 184), (Ito 1997: 373, 376), but others prefer 'divination seedlings'
(Takagi et at. 1959: 424), (Omodaka 1977.14: 104), (Mizushima 1986: 172).
The best explanation, I believe, was provided by Tsuchiya, who analyzes
muranape in the line three as a verb (1977.7: 275). MJ verb uranap- 'to perfonn
divination' is consonantal, and the verb is not attested phonographically in WOJ,
but the conditional form attested in 11.2507 is traditionally glossed as uranape-
Npa, betraying the vowel verb. The verb (m)uranape- to perfonn divination' is
probably derived from noun (m)uranape 'divination seedlings' by conversion.
Nevertheless, the verbal nature ofmuranape in line three should settle the issue,
as there is no verb *muranape 'to put seedlings in a bundle'. In addition,
although the exact process of divination on rice seedlings remains unknown,
this explanation certainly makes much more sense than 'group seedlings', as it
remains unclear how one can decide anything on the basis of a group of
seedlings. As for the initial m-, it is likely to be an EOJ archaism. See also the
commentary to 14.3404 of reflexes ofPJ *murn/ n- in EOJ and WOJ.
OJ kola 'matter' refers to marriage arrangement here. Apparently, the
marriage for a girl who is the author of this poem was an arranged one, and not
to her liking.
EOJ se-m-a is the tentative attributive fonn of the verb se- 'to do'. The
attributive -a is a misspelling for -6, but this is to be expected in the Man 'yi5shi1
besides book five. On the EOJ verbal attributive -6 see the commentary to
14.3395 and a brief description of EOJ special grammar in the introduction.
110 MAN'YQSHO
Romanization
(1) Ikapo se-yo (2) nakatiNkulnakanaka pukiNke (3) omop-i-[i]Nt-or%mop-i-
tor-o (4) kumakososituto (5) wasure se-n-ap-umo
Translation
(1) From Ikapo rapids/From [my] beloved in Ikapo (5) [I] will not forget! (2/3/4)
Not possible to analyze and/or translate at the present stage of our knowledge.
Commentary
This poem is practically impossible to analyze and translate, as only line five is
clear. It is conspicuous that the Genryaku kohon does not even have kana
glosses for this poem. This probably means that the poem was impossible to
understand at the end of twelfth century. Among the modem commentators
Omodaka left this poem without a translation (Omodaka 1977.14: 105.
On Ikapo mountain and area see the commentary to 14.3409.
OJ se in line one can be either 'rapids' or 'beloved', 'husband'. Since the
remaining context is opaque, the choice between these two is impossible.
Both the Genryaku kohon and the Ruijii koshii have the character ~ in line
two, more recent manuscripts have tJz instead. I have followed the oldest
manuscripts. It is possible to offer two tentative readings of this line, but we still
cannot interpret either of them.
EOJ omopiNtfm3 in line three is analyzed either as omop-i-[i]Nt-oro 'think-
INF-exit-ATTR', or omop-i-tor-o 'think-INF-take-ATTR'. In the first case, -oro
will be the only case of attributive form containing unraised vowels that
corresponds to both EOJ and WOJ .-uru. In the second case, to the best of my
knowledge, the compound omop-i-nvr- is not otherwise attested in OJ.
Line four can be read, but its analysis and meaning are completely unclear.
On specific EOJ order of morphemes -(a)n-ap- 'NEG-ITER' see the
commentary to 14.3375.
The above analysis reflects both strengths and weaknesses of the traditional
philological approach. However, this poem might be partially analyzable if we
look at its text as it appears in the Hirose-bon (lliW1i*), which in spite of being
a mid-Edo period manuscript, is believed to be the only survivin~copy of the
Man 'yoshii that goes back to the no longer extant Teika-bon (I:E~*), copied
by Fujiwara-no Teika (iii)Jj(I:E*), who alongside Motoori Norinaga is one of
the two greatest Japanese philologists who has ever walked the Earth. The
Hirose-bon text goes as follows (Hirose et al. 1994: 116):
*j(
(1)
. Orig~nal text
{jFPJ1*,11t~ (2) ~RJr:p~"F (3) ~::§!tJ!ln (4) Rataq:~ztfl)~ (5) ~1J~Jl:
tL 1§~;tff£1:
BOOK FOURTEEN 111
Romanization
(1) Ikapo se yo (2) naka-NA PUK-I-tutu (3) omop-i-[i]Nt-oro (4)
kumakososituto (5) wasure se-n-ap-umo
Translation
(1) The wind [from] Ikapo [mountain] (2) continues to blow at (1) night. (5) [I]
will never forget (4)? (3) whom [I] recollect.
Commentary
The character !P instead of T in line two mostly disambiguates this line: ~!P
should be taken as puk-i-tutu 'blow-INF-COOR'. This semantographic way of
writing is highly unusual for book fourteen.
1 trust that r:p probably renders -na, EOJ locative case marker. The OJ word
naka 'inside' etymologically consists of na 'inside' + ka 'place', and there are
two cases in the Nihonshoki when r:p is used to write na (Omodaka 1967: 512).
Thus, ~RJ r:p probably renders naka-na 'inside-LOC.
The last character W\ in line one then can be taken as standing for OJ yo
'night', constituting together with the following naka-na in line two yo-naka-na
'in the night'. The line break between the two parts of the compoundyo-naka is,
of course, unusual. Yo-naka occurs seven times in the Man 'yoshu, and is always
found within a line.
Puk-i-tutu 'continues to blow' requires the word for 'wind'. Could se in line
one be an archaic form (with an unraised vowel *e) of OJ -si 'wind' found only
in compounds?
Line four, unfortunately, still remains completely opaque.
14.3420 (E)
*X . Ori~al text
(1) RJ~ih~i.~ (211£mfJ7;ffi~iBt£ (3) ~HI~.iBt~£ (4) ~illiBtli::R*LIJj
(5) fDiBttcRJmE~{'M"
Romanization
(1) Kamitukeno (2) SaNO-no puna-pasi (3) tor-i-panas-i (4) oya pa sak-ure-NtO
(5) wa pa sakar-u Nkape
Translation
(4) Although [my] parents [are going to] separate [us], (3) like taking apart (2)
the boat bridge at Sano (I) [in] Kamitukeno, (5) will [I] separate [myself from
you]? [- Certainly not!]
Commentary
On Kamitukeno province see the commentary to 14.3404.
On the Sano area see the commentary to 14.3406.
EOJ puna-pasi 'boat bridge' is a bridge where planks are placed on the top
of connected boats that are used as a foundation of a bridge instead of pillars
(Omodaka 1977.14: 108).
On EOJ wa pa 'I TOP' see the commentary to 14.3377.
OJ sake- is a transitive verb 'to split, to separate', while OJ sakar- is its
intransitive counterpart 'to be split, to be separated'.
EOJ Nkape is an interrogative particle introducing irony, i.e. an affirmative
or a negative question to which the opposite answer is expected.
14.3421 (W)
*X . Original text
(I) fjl'~*tfJi/j\ (~ PJ*~J3~IE~ffJi (3) fDftfit/j\¥Bt (4) S3~¥Bt~*H-a
(5) ~~/j\..g.m <=3 ~
Romanization
(1) Ikapo ne-ni (2) ~amlnari na-nar-i-so-n-e (3) wa-Nka [u]pe-ni pa (4) yuwe pa
na-ke-Nt6mo (5) KO-ra-ni yor-i-te so
Translation
(2) Oh, thunder, please do not rumble (I) at Ikapo peak. (3/4) It is not because
of me, but (5) because of [my] dear girl [who is afraid].
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
On Ikapo mountain and area see the commentary to 14.3409. Ikapo peak is
present-day Mt. Haruna (Nakanishi 1985: 421).
BOOK FOURTEEN 113
Romanization
(1) Ikapo kaNse (2) puk-u PI puk-an-u PI (3) ar-i to ip-e-NtO (4) a-Nka kopi'
nomi' si (5) tOld na-k-ar-i-ker-i
Translation
(3) Although [they] say that there are (2) days when (1) the wind [from] Ikapo
mountain (2) blows and days when [it] does not blow, (4) only my longing [for
you] (5) turns out to be timeless.
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
On Ikapo mountain and surrounding area see the commentary to 14.3409.
Ikapo peak is present-day Mt. Haruna (Nakanishi 1985: 421).
Line three is hypermetric (jiamari, *~ VJ ), but this is probably just a
graphic illusion, since t6 ipeNt6 was in all probability pronounced as [topeNtO].
Timeless longing implies that there is no time when the longing stops.
Romanization
(1) Kamitukeno (2) Ikapo-no ne-ro-ni (3) pur-o yoki-no (4) yuk-i-suNkl-kate-n-
u (5) imo-Nka ipe-no atari
Translation
(3) Like the snow falling (2) at the Ikapo peak (1) [in] Kamituken6, (4) [I]
cannot pass (5) the vicinity of my beloved's house.
Commentary
On Kamitukeno province see the commentary to 14.3404.
114 MAN'YQSHO
On Ikapo mountain and area see the commentary to 14.3409. Ikapo peak is
present-day Mt. Haruna (Nakanishi 1985: 421).
On the EOJ verbal attributive -0 see the commentary to 14.3395 and a brief
description of the EOJ special grammar in the Introduction.
EOJ yak! 'snow' (apparent misspelling of *yokl) is a form with unraised
primary PJ *0 that corresponds to WOJ yuk! 'id.' Cf. also Old Okinawan variant
(and probably archaic) spellings yoki. yoti 'snow, hail' (Hokama et al. 1995:
699).
Translation
Twenty-two poems above are from Karnitukeno province.
Commentary
On Kamitukeno (J:!I!f) province see the commentary to 14.3404.
Translation
(4) A girl truly beautiful (3) like a small oak (2) from Mikamo mountain (1) in
Simotukeno, (5) whose food container will [she] hold?
Commentarr
Simotukeno3 Cflf) province corresponds to present-day Tochigi prefecture. It
was one of the Upper Provinces under the Ritsuryo code. On the Ritsuryo code
classification ofYamato provinces see the commentary to 5.818.
33 Misspelled as Simotukeno here and in the following 14.3425. We know that the etymological
spelling must have been Simotukeno, because it was a lower (sima) province, as opposed to
Kamitukeno, an upper (kami) province. The element -ke- is likely to represent OJ ke (~) 'hair', if
BOOK FOURTEEN 115
The WOJ diminutive prefix is kO-, therefore EOJ ko- might be a spelling due
to a lack of contrast between 101 and 101 in the Simotukeno dialect. However,
Kupchik believes that there was no loss of contrast between 101 and 101 in
Simotukeno (2011: 341). Thus, most likely it is a misspelling. There is also an
alternative explanation that ko- in ko-nara here is not a diminutive prefix, but a
bound stem ko- of the word ki" 'tree' (Omodaka et al. 1967: 303).
Mikamo mountain (=~~) is present-day Mikamo mountain (=,,~~, 225
m) located to the east of Sano city (f~!I!f$) in Tochigi prefecture (Nakanishi
1985: 486).
The OJ nara 'oak' (Quercus serra/a, MdJ konara) is a tall deciduous tree
with height about 15 m. Both male and female flowers bloom on the same tree
in the spring. Male flowers have long shape with brownish yellow stripes.
Female flowers produce oval shaped hard fruits, which have round shaped
shells. Its wood is used for making wooden utensils, firewood, and charcoal,
and its bark is used as a dye.
On the EOJ comparative case marker -nosu see the commentary to 14.3413.
WOJ has ke 'container', therefore EOJ ke is likely to be a misspelling due to
the loss of contrast between lei and lei in the Simotukeno dialect. Cf. also the
same misspelling in the name of the province: Simotukeno instead of
Simotukeno.
Holding someone's food container is a metaphor for marriage (Mizushima
1986: 82).
14.3425 (E)
*X . Ori~nal text
(I) ~£ti5~~ (2) ~*]JriiJi'B.&W\ (3) f,.Z:th!#~ (4) ~.&a31H1fr;Zlj. (5)
~;ft28q:g~tL
Romanization
(I) Simotukeno (2) Aso-no KApara-yo (3) isi pum-aNs-u (4) sora-yu to k-i-n-u
yo (5) na-Nka kokoro nor-e
Translation
(4) [I] came (2) from the river-bed of Aso (1) [in] Simotukeno, (4) as from the
sky, (3) without treading on stones! (5) Reveal [to me] your heart!
Commentary
On Simotukeno province see the commentary to 14.3424.
On Aso district see the commentary to 14.3404.
Kojiki's semantographic spelling T:=e!l!f is to be trusted (KJK II: lIb), therefore -ke- might also
be a misspelling.
116 MAN'yOsHD
Translation
The two poems above are from Simotukeno province.
Commentary
On Simotukeno (Tty) province see the commentary to 14.3424.
14.3426 (E)
*Jt . Original text
(1) *ttRtfJ\flli (2) !A3J\-iL16:tt:j§~ (3) *t&~t&~ (4) M~tt7J\~~~
(5) tt~-$~Jl:~tttfJ\
Translation
(3) If [we] continue not to meet, (112) because the land of ApiNtune peak is far,
(5) [I] want [you] to tie [your garment] cords, (4) as if [you] have been longing
for [me]
Commentary
ApiNtu peak is a mountain in Aizu region (~i$ ±fu 15) of present-day
Fukushima prefecture. The exact identification with any present-day' mountain
is not possible, but it is thought that it may be Bandai mountain (~f% rlJ, 1819)
in Yama county (If~Jffm) to the northeast of Aizuwakamatsu city (~i$lH~m)
(Nakanishi 1985: 419).
On WOJ -wo as an absolutive case marker, see the commentary to 15.3599.
On specific EOJ order of morphemes -(a)n-ap- 'NEG-ITER' see the
commentary to 14.3375.
On the EOJ verbal attributive -0 see the commentary to 14.3395 and a brief
description of EOJ special grammar in the introduction.
On a custom among lovers of tying and untying the cords of their garments
see the commentary to 15.3585.
BOOK FOURTEEN 117
Romanization
(1) Tu~si-n-ar-u (2) nipop-u KO yuwe n-l (3) Mitinoku-no (4) Katori
wotOME-no (5) yup-i-si pimo tok-u
Translation
(2) Because of the stunningly beautiful girl (1) in Tukusi (5) [I] will untie the
cord (4) tied by the maiden from KatOn (3) in Mitinoku.
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
On Tukusi see the commentary to 15.3634.
OJ nipop- is a tricky verb to translate. Its basic meaning seems to be 'to be
beautiful with shining color'.
Mitinoku (~i~) province included present-day Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate,
Akita, Yamagata, and Aomori prefectures (Nakanishi 1985: 487), although
there are strong grounds to believe that at least the territory of present-day
Aomon prefecture, as well as possibly northern parts of Akita and Iwate, may
not have been under Yamato control in the eighth century (Ito 1997: 388).
Mitinoku was one of the Great Provinces under the Ritsuryo code. On the
Ritsuryo code classification of YamatO provinces see the commentary to 5.818.
Opinions differ on the interpretation of Katon in line four. It may be either
katori 'a type of silk cloth strongly woven with small meshes', or a placename
Katori. Most modern commentators take it to be a placename (Takagi et al.
1959: 425), (Kubota 1964: 190), (Kojima et al. 1973: 468), (Tsuchiya 1977.7:
283), (Omodaka 1977.14: 115), (Nakanishi 1981: 259), (Mizushima 1986: 187),
(Satake et al. 2002: 335), with the exception of Ito who is inclined to see it as
katori 'a type of silk cloth strongly woven with small meshes' (1997: 389-90).
One slight problem for placename interpretation might be that such a p1acename
is recorded for Simotupusa province, but not for Mitinoku. I follow the major~
here, because the placename Katori spelled semantographically as W ~
'fragrance taking' may be involved in a word play with nipop-, which also has
another meaning 'to be fragrant' in a stronger sense than ka 'fragrance'. Thus,
both ladies are fragrant, but the one in Tukusi turns out to be more
fragrantibeautiful than the one in Mitinoku.
On a custom among lovers of tying and untying the cords of their garments
see the commentary to 15.3585.
118 MAN'YQSHU
14.3428 (W)
*Jt . Original text
(1) '!X*.:$.&77 (2) t1J\1]\1ti@V~,zlm (3) '!X£~k ~ (4) '!XtLiel {jI-:$ &$
(5) t1J\JJt~{tLfIJ~t1J\
f&~ (7Y. ~ r L- • Kana transliteration
(1) }Yt~f;: G(J) 2 (2) tl'~b-9L L(J) 2 (3)}y V) ~~t 1 (4) }YtLlilt\t= Gtr
(5) tlc!::" I f.t~ V) -t 2tl
Romanization
(1) Antatara-no (2) ne-ni pus-u sisi-no (3) ar-i-tutu mo (4) are pa itar-am-u (5)
ne-N-to na-sar-i-so-n-e
Translation
(2) Like the game that lies at the peak (1) of ANtatara, (3) is there all the time,
(4) I will [always] come to [you]. (5) Please do not go away from your bed!
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
ANtatara peak corresponds to present-day Mt. Adatara ('!X~*'.j§H1J, 1700
m) in Ada county ('!X~m) of Fukushima prefecture. It also appears in 7.1329
and 14.3437 (Nakanishi 1985: 417).
OJ sisi is 'meat, flesh (as food)' or 'game'. Game animals normally included
both deer and wild boars.
The first three lines constitute a poetic introduction (jo, R:) to the rest of the
poem.
";(:;-=- 11 ~~~ ~ mx
Translation
Three poems above are from Mitinoku province.
Commentary
On Mitinoku (~~~) province see the commentary to 14.3427.
BOOK FOURTEEN 119
.1Iit~
Allegorical poems
14.3429 (W)
*X . Original text
(1) ~*:m9:7{ff~ (2) {JI"~{;5:::{*~iI:7J (3) *-SJZ-:m:R}~, (4) *tL-SJZ-~~*'7
(5) *{&:atZ!jo/.}~-SJZ-
fli~ O).~ T L • Kana transliteration
(1) ~ 2 IJ>,:);b,b.Jr. 1 (2) ,,\tt ~ Il-{- 2 *- 2 (J) 2 (3) Jr. 1 ~/) < L- (4) ;b:h~
t::..(J) 2 fh 2 -c (5) ;b ~ ~ Vb 2 (J) 2 ~
Romanization
(1) TopotuapurW (2) Inasa poso YE-no (3) Mlwo-tu kusi (4) are-wo tanome-te
(5) as-amasi MOnowo
Translation
(4) [You] made me trust [you] (3) [like] buoys in the channel (2) of Inasa
narrow inlet (1) [in] Topotuapumi, (5) but would [you] make [your feelings]
shallow?
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this,ioem.
The first line is hypermetric (jiamari, 'F~ IJ), but this is probably just a
graphic illusion, since Topotuapumf was in all probability pronounced as
[Topotapumi].
On Topotuapumi province see the commentary to the postscript to the poems
14.3353-3354.
Inasa inlet is identified either as an inlet in the northeastern comer of
Hamana lake u~q;~) in the vicinity of Hosoe town (~lIliIIHT) in Inasa county
(51{;5:::f!5) of present-day Shizuoka prefecture, or as a part of a watercourse of
litani river (j:j:{JI"~) II) and Miyakoda river (:m EEl) II) in the same prefecture
(Nakanishi 1985: 424). Inasa cannot be explained in Japanese and it is likely to
be an original Ainu placename: Inaw-san 'the place where inaw [are offered]'
(Chiri 1956: 36). Ainu inaw are whittled pieces of willow, lilac, and other wood
which are stuck in the ground as offerings to the deities.
OJ mfwo is a 'channel for navigation (either in a sea or a river)'. It is
probably a compound that consists of mf 'water' + wo 'cord'. See also 15.3627,
line 12.
OJ mfwo-tu kusi are the stalks marking the safe watercourse for boats and
ships that performed the function of buoys.
OJ tanome- 'to make rely on', 'to make trust' is a transitive verb
corresponding to OJ intransitive verb tanom- 'to be relying on', 'to be trusting'.
Omodaka et al. believe that the verb 'to make shallow' was a vowel verb
*ase-, but the examples they give all involve semantographic spelling (1967:
23) that makes it impossible to determine whether the verb in question was
120 MAN'YC>SHO
indeed a vowel one or a consonantal one. On the same page of their dictionary
another consonantal verb as- is listed with the meaning defined as unknown Of;:
~¥:). But the closer scrutiny of the examples under this entry reveals that the
meaning 'to make shallow' is the likeliest one. Interestingly enough, in the
work of his own Omodaka assumes the quite clear position that the verb in
question here must be consonantal verb as- 'to make shallow', and that
consequently as-amasi is the subjunctive form of this verb (1977.14: 118). I
fully subscribe to his point of view in my interpretation and translation.
Translation
The poem above is from Topotuapumi province.
Commentary
On Topotuapumi province see the commentary to the postscript to 14.3353-
3354.
Translation
(4) I really wonder whether (2) the boat that is rowing in the morning (1) [in]
SiNta bay (4) would be rowing (3) for no reason, (5) Certainly there should be a
reason.
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this,20em.
The first line is hypermetric (jiamari, +~ I), but this is probably just a
graphic illusion, since SiN/a-no ura was in all probability pronounced as
[SiNtanura] or [SiNtanora].
SiNta bay corresponds to the present-day seashore around the estuary of
litani river (j:Hjl':§) II) in the Sida county ($:*1m) of present-day Shizuoka
prefecture (Omodaka 1977.14: 118), (Nakanishi 1985: 452).
BOOK FOURTEEN 121
Translation
The poem above is from SuruNka province.
Commentary
On SuruNka province see the commentary to 14.3359.
Romanization
(1) AsiNkari-no (2) Akina-no yama-ni (3) pik-o pune-no (4) siri pik-asi-mo yo
(5) kokoNpa ko-N-kata n-i
Translation
(4) [His] ass is dragged [by me], (3) like a boat that [they] drag [up] (2) to
Akina mountain (1) in AsiNkari, (5) [but] it is extremely difficult [for him to
come here]!
Commentary
On AsiNkari see the commentary to 14.3361.
The exact location of Akina mountain is unknown, but it is likely to be one
of the mountains in the Hakone mountain range, although there is also an
<').l~inion that it might be ANkina mountain (~jJ~UJ) in Ayukawa district (~~
1315) of SaNkamu province mentioned in the WamyoshO (Nakanishi 1985: 414),
(Mizushima 1986: 193). The placename Akina does not seem to be Japonic and
might be reflecting the Ainu ay-kina 'arrow grass', although such a compound
is not attested in known Ainu sources.
On the EOJ verbal attributive -0 see the commentary to 14.3395 and a brief
description of EOJ special grammar in the introduction.
On OJ adjectivizer -asi see the commentary to 5.794.
On OJ exclamative form -umo ~ -mo see the commentary to 15.3595.
OJ kokoNpa 'extremely', 'so much' is attested more frequently in EOJ than
in WOJ. For details see Vovin (2009: 1107-109).
122 MAN'VQSHU
In line five we would expect ko-N-kata 'difficult to come' with the otsu-rui
vowel 0 rather than kO-N-kata with the k6-rui vowel 0, but this might be due to
the loss of distinction between these two vowels in the SaNkamu dialect of EOJ.
However, Kupchik believes that there was no loss of contrast between /6/ and
/0/ in SaNkamu (2011: 285). Thus, most likely it is a misspelling.
This poem apparently represents a complaint by a woman whose lover or
husband fails to visit her.
14.3432 (E)
*X
(1)
. OriginalJJ text
~ilJz ~flj (2) fQ~ PIi,~:&JffIm (3) PIRJ[JJ*1m (4) fQ~ PI R f3::tfJI£:}
(5) PI Rf3::PIst~£:}
-f&~ O).~ r
1..- • Kana transliteration
(1) ib LiJ~ fJ 0) ,z(2) b:a:-iJ~ft 1 ~~ 0) z(3) iJ~---5O) 2 ~ 20) 2 (4) b:a:-iJ~---5 ~
p t 2 (5) iJ~---5 2 iJ~f J:: 2 t 2
Romanization
(1) AsiNkari-no (2) wa-wo Kake yama-no (3) kaNtunoki-no (4) wa-wo kaNtus-
an-e-mo (5) kaNtus-ak-aNs-u tOmo
Translation
(5) No matter how [you] abduct [me], (4) please abduct me (3) like a paper
mulberry tree (2) from Mt. Kake (1) in AsiNkari!
Commentary
On AsiNkari see the commentary to 14.3361.
(pennanent epithet) taku-N-pusuma 'covers from the mulberry tree [bark cloth]'
(14.3509). The etymology of OJ taku 'mulberry tree' is quite transparent: it
must have been borrowed from OK predecessor ofMK tilk 'mulberry tree'.
The first three lines constitute a poetic introduction (jo, Ff) to the rest of the
poem.
This poem is difficult to interpret due to the presence of two hapax legomena
in lines four and five: kaNtusanemo and kaNtusakaNsu. Omodaka believes that
both reflect the verb kaNtus- 'to abduct' (1977.14: 122-24). Kubota agrees with
Omodaka's analysis (1967: 164). Both Tsuchiya and Mizushima agree with
Omodaka on the first hapax legomenon, but treat the second one as kaNtu sak-
'to peal the bark/paper mulberry tree' (Kubota 1977.7: 288-89), (Mizushima
1986: 195), but this is hard to believe, because there is no word kaNtu 'bark' in
OJ. The interpretation of kaNtu as 'paper mulberry tree' is possible, but is
impeded by the fact that it is called kaNtunokr in the same poem. KaNtunokr is
certainly transparent: kaNtu 'paper mulberry tree' + n-o, attributive fonn of the
copula n- + ki" 'tree'. But there is no evidence that kaNtu could be used by itself
in EOJ like kaNti in WOJ. In addition, OJ sak- does not mean 'to peel', but 'to
split, to divide in two'. Mizushima's point of view is also shared by Takagi et al.
and Nakanishi, although they treat kaNtus- as 'to invite' (Takagi et al. 1959:
427), (Nakanishi 1981: 260). Kojima et al. take a more cautious position taking
both hapax legomena as opaque. They also point out that there are no other
examples of exclamative suffix -(u)mo attested after desiderative imperative -
(a)n-e (1973: 469). The same position is taken by Satake et al. (2002: 337). Ito
interprets kaNtu sak- as 'to open the gate' (1997: 398), but OJ sak- does not
mean 'to open', but 'to split'. The apparent difficulty with Omodaka's proposal
is that we face two different roots or stems, if we treat kaNtus- and kaNtusak- as
the same word. The analogy that Omodaka draws between these two on the one
hand, and MdJ kadowas- ~ kadowakas- 'to abduct, to kidnap', hiyas- 'to cool'~
hiyakas- 'to make fun of on the other hand, in spite of demonstrating the same
verbal suffix -ak-, is not complete, as we would expect the second fonn to be
*kaNtusakas-, and not kaNtusak-. Still, Omodaka's interpretation makes the
most sense for the text interpretation, so I follow him in my interpretation and
translation. Nevertheless, the translation must be viewed as a provisional one.
Romanization
(1) takiNKI kor-u (2) Kamakura yama-no (3) koNtar-u KI-wo (4) matu/mat-u to
na-Nka ip-aNpa (5) kapr-tutu ya ar-am-u
124 MAN'YC>SHO
Translation
(4) When [you] call (3) a tree with densely grown branches (2) from Kamalrura
mountains (1) where [they] cut firewood (4) a pine/when you say that [you]
wait for [me], (5) would [you] continue to long for [me]?
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
Kamalrura mountains refer to the mountainous area in the back of present-
day Kamakura city (Nakanishi 1985: 437).
The fourth line is hypermetric (jiamari, *~ IJ ).
There is a play on words (kakekotoba, m-~ll]) in line four: matu 'pine tree'
and mat-u 'waits'. The words matu 'pine' and mat-u 'waits' are complete
homophones including even their common accent pattern LOW-HIGH.
On conditional -(a)Npa indicating temporal connection when followed by a
main verb containing tentative -(a)m- or negative tentative -(a)Nsi see the
commentary to 5.882,15.3629 and for the details Vovin (2009a: 733-34).
Takeda and Kubota explain line five as: 'I will continue to long for you',
taking ya for an emphatic particle (Takeda 1955.2: 414), (Kubota 1967: 194).
However, most Japanese scholars tend to explain line five as an irony question:
'Will I continue to long for you? [- Certainly not, as I will be back soon]'
(Takagi et al. 1959: 427), (Kojima et al. 469), (Omodaka 1977.14: 124),
(Tsuchiya 1977.7: 290), (Nakanishi 1981: 260), (Mizushima 1986: 196-97),
(Satake et al. 2002: 337). However, irony constructions involve evidential forms
-(a)m-e or -uram-e of tentative suffixes -(a)m- and -uram- with the following,
and not preceding interrogative particle ya. Thus, I treat this line as a general
question, which coincides with Ito's interpretation (1997: 398).
Translation
Three poems above are from SaNkamu province.
Commentary
On SaNkamu province see the commentary to 14.3362.
BOOK FOURTEEN 125
Romanization
(1) KamitukeNO (2) Aso yama tuNtura (3) NO-wo piro-mi (4) pap-i-n-i-si
MOnowo (5) aNse ka taye se-m-u
Translation
(2/4) Although [my heart] crept [to you like] the vine from Aso mountain (1) [in]
Kamitukeno (3) because the field is wide, (5) why should [it/we] break?
Commentary
On Kamitukeno province see the commentary to 14.3404.
On Aso district see the commentary to 14.3404. The exact location of Aso
mountain is unknown. It could be either a mountainous region in the north of
Aso district, or, accordiI?-g to another hypothesis, a mountain at the southeastern
slope of Mt. Haruna (~~ 1lJ) in the vicinity of Misato town (~~IBT) in
Gunma county (tlf,~m) in present-day Gunma prefecture (Nakanishi 1985:
417).
On tuNtura 'vine' see the commentary 14.3359.
On the absolutive case marker -wo see the commentary to 15.3599. For
details, see Vovin (2005: 163-67).
On EOJ aNse 'why' see the commentary to 14.3369.
TuNtura 'vine' is a metaphor referring to a love relationship. The implied
meaning of this poem is: 'it goes well, so why should it break?'
Romanization
(1) lkapo-ro-no (2) sop-i-no pari para (3) wa-Nka kinu-ni (4) tuk-i-yor-asi-mo
yo (5) pita-pe to omop-e-Npa
Translation
(2) [The fruits from] the fields of alders that line up (1) the little Ikapo
[mountain] (3/4) have really dyed my garment (5) because, as [I] think, [it] has
only one layer!
126 MAN'YC>SHO
Commentary
On Ikapo mountain see the commentary to 14.3409.
On the diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
OJ pari 'alder' see the commentary to 14.3410.
EOJ pita 'one' is hapax legomenon corresponding to WOJ pita 'id'.
EOJ evidential -e- is a misspelling for WOJ -e- indicating in all probability
the loss of distinction between lei and lei in the Kamitukeno dialect.
Line five is hypermetric (jiamari, *~ 'J ), but this is likely to be a graphic
illusion, since to omopeNpa in all probability was pronounced as [tomopeNpa].
The metaphor in this poem implies that the feelings of one's lover (fruits of
the alder that dyed the author's garment) match perfectly with that of the author,
who has no secret thoughts (second layer of the garment that does not exist
here).
(1)
. Original text
14.3436 (E)
*.:t ;:B~lH*{ff (2) -1-jy\lt~~J#]J (3) :tmE~J#]J (4) f~~tL~*JJ~
(5) ~~~7Etjy\:tfX-a
Romanization
(1) siratOpopu (2) wo-Nipita yama-no (3) mor-u yama-no (4) ura-N-kare se-n-a-
na (5) tOko pa n-i moNkamo
Translation
(5) I wish that (4) top branches [of the trees] (2) on Mt. Nipita, (3) on [this]
mountain that [they guard] (4) would not wither and (5) have eternal leaves.
Commentary
EOJ siratopopu is probably a permanent epithet (makura-kotoba, tt~llJ) to Mt.
Nipita. Its structure and meaning are unknown. In the Man 'yoshii it is attested
only in this poem.
On Mt. Nipita see the commentary to 14.3408.
The notion of a guarded mountain is not completely clear, but potentially it
could be due to the presence of an important shrine.
On EOJ form in V-(a)n-a-na see the commentary to 14.3408.
Although not noted in commentaries, se-na-na 'without doing' may also
represent a play on words with se-na-na 'beloved-DIM-DIM' (14.3544).
This poem probably represents a metaphor of good wishes for one's lover's
well-being and health (Omodaka 1977.14: 127).
BOOK FOURTEEN 127
*~ .
Postscript to the poems 14.3434-3436
Original text
:;fJ-=-§J::ll!f~mx
Translation
Three poems above are from Kamituken6 province.
Commentary
On Kamituken6 province see the commentary to 14.3404.
Translation
(4) If (3) [you] take off the [bow string from] (2) the real Antatara bow (1) of
Mitinoku (4) and make [the bow] bend, (5) I wonder whether [you] would [be
able to] put the bow string back.
Commentary
On Mitinoku province see the commentary to 14.3427.
On ANtatara peak see the commentary to 14.3428.
Throughout history, Japanese bows were simple, long bows in sharp contrast
to the more powerful shorter bows used by Inner Asian nomads, Koreans, and
Chinese which could shoot arrows long distances. The lack of a composite
structure dictated the longer length of the Japanese bow so that it could shoot
arrows still shorter but somewhat comparable distances.
The second and third lines are hypermetric (jiamari, *~ ~). In the case of
the third line, it is probably just a graphic illusion as paNsik-i-ok-i-te was in all
probability pronounced as [paNsikokite).
EOJ ser- 'to bend' corresponds to MJ sor- 'id.' (not attested in WOJ).
On the basis of WOJ grammar one would expect the attributive form in front
of the particle kama, not evidential as in this poem. This is likely to be an EOJ
feature.
There are two 'misspellings' of if as e (in -asime- and -am-e-), probably
indicating that the contrast between them was non-existent in Mitinoku.
128 MAN'yOSHO
This poem is a metaphor for two lovers who may not go back to the same
relationship because they did not meet for some time (Omodaka 1977.14: 128).
Omodaka believes that this poem was rnisclassified (probably by OpotOmo-
no Yakamoti) as a poem from Mitinoku due to the mention of the Antatara bow
(1977.14: 129). Needless to say, there is zero evidence to the contrary.
Translation
The poem above is from Mitinoku province.
.
Commentary
On Mitinoku province see the commentary to 14.3427.
~
Miscellaneous poems
Romanization
(1) Tumu-Nka NO-ni (2) suNsu-Nka oto kik-oy-u (3) KamusiNta-no (4) tano-
no naka-ti si (5) to-N-kar-i s-urasi-mo
Translation
(2) [I] suddenly hear the sounds of bells (1) in the field of Tumu. (5) It looks
like (4) the middle son from the mansion (3) of KamusiNta (5) hunts birds [with
hawks]!
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
In Nara-period Japan hawks used for hunting were supplied with little bells
attached to their feet that made the tracing of them easier for hunters.
The exact location of Tumu field is unknown. Possibly it is a place in Sida
county (i0:t:m) of the present-day Shizuoka prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 465).
BOOK FOURTEEN 129
The placename Tumu is likely to be of Ainu origin: Ainu tum 'middle (of water,
land, or grassy area') (Hattori 1964: 240). Thus, Tumu-Nka no is 'middle field'.
The final -u in Tumu may reflect the Ainu third person possessive -u, or may be
just an echo vowel introduced in EOJ.
),
The second line is hypermetric (jiamari, *~ ~ although it is probably just
a graphic illusion as suNsu-Nka oto was in all probability pronounced as
[suNsuNkaW] or [suNsu-Nk-oW).
The exact location of KamusiNta is unknown. Possibly it is a place in Sida
county (~*W) of the present-day Shizuoka prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 438).
OJ -ti in naka-ti originally probably meant 'blood [relation]', which
eventually underwent the semantic shift into the 'blood [relation]' > 'child'.
Since -ti does not appear in isolation in this meaning, our lucky guess pretty
much depends on the variant l4.3438b of this poem presented below. This -ti
could be the same -ti as in yoti '[child ]of the same age', 'coeval' found in
14.3440 below, but the first element yo- in yoti is unclear, so this word cannot
be segmented.
OJ toNkari is normally explained as 'bird hunt [conducted with hawks]'
(Omodaka et al. 1967: 488). There is, however, an unexpected contraction of OJ
tori 'bird' into to-, which is irregular.
On the OJ exclamative form -umo ~ -mo see the commentary to 15.3595.
Translation
This poem in a certain book has Mftu-Nka NO-ni [in the first line], and another
[book] has waku-N-kO si [in the fourth line).
Commentary
These are apparently the variants of 14.3438 that will be presented below as
l4.3438a and l4.3438b.
Romanization
(1) Mitu-Nka NO-ni (2) suNsu-Nka oW kik-oy-u (3) KamusiNta-no (4) Wno-no
naka-ti si (5) W-N-kar-i s-urasi-mo
Translation
(2) [I] suddenly hear the sounds of bells (1) in the field of Mitu. (5) It looks like
(4) the middle son from the mansion (3) of KamusiNta (5) hunts birds [with
hawks]!
Commentary
There are no distinctive EO] features in this poem.
The exact location of Mitu field is unknown (Nakanishi 1985: 465).
For the rest see the commentary to 14.3438.
(1)
. Original text
14.3438b (W)
*Jt WJ1t~Jfi]\(2) ~~:fXM'~1yjq:fE (3) PT-$-,~,*~ (4) ~~JYfQRi5A,~,
(5) 1f:fX~~.6l,~,f,J:
Romanization
(1) Tumu-Nka NO-ni (2) suNsu-Nka oto kik-oy-u (3) KamusiNta-no (4) tono-
no waku-N-ko si (5) to-N-kar-i s-urasi-mo
Translation
(2) [I] suddenly hear the sounds of bells (1) in the field of Tumu. (5) It looks
like (4) the youngest son from the mansion (3) of KamusiNta (5) hunts birds
[with hawks]!
Commentary
There are no distinctive EO] features in this poem.
For the rest see the commentary to 14.3438.
Romanization
(1) suNsu-Nka ne-no (2) pay-uMA uMA-ya-no (3) tutuml-wi-no (4) mlNtu-wo
tamape-na (5) imo-Nka taNta TE-yo
BOOK FOURTEEN 131
Translation
(4) [I] wish to receive the water (3) from the stone well (2) at the relay station (1)
where the bell sounds [are heard] (5) directly from your hands.
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
OJ pay-uma 'fast-horse' is a contraction of paya 'fast' and uma 'horse'.
Uma-ya (lit. 'horse house') is 'stable'. Together pay-uma uma-ya means 'relay
station', where travelers on official business could change horses.
OJ tutumf is 'dam'. Tutumf-wi probably refers to a well surrounded by (or
made from?) stones (Omodaka 1977.14: 132), (Mizushima 1986: 205).
Omodaka argued that the character f& stands for pa, and not pe, therefore, ~
Jfff~~ is tamap-ana 'I wish you give me', not tamape-na 'I wish to receive'
(1977.14: 132-33). This is highly unlikely since the character f~ is attested in
book fourteen thirty-one times, and it always stands for pe, and not pa.
OJ imo 'younger sister' here indicates not a lover or a wife of the author, but
is a form of address to a young woman who works at the relay station.
Romanization
(1) kono KApa:.ni (2) asa na arap-u KO (3) nare mo are mo (4) yoti-wo so mot-
er-u (5) iNte KO taNpar-i-ni
Translation
(2) [Oh,] girl who washes vegetables in the morning (1) in this river! (3) Both
you and me (4) have [the children of] the same age. (5) Well, 1 will [go to]
receive [your] child [as mine].
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
The third line is hypermetric (jiamari, *~ I) ).
132 MAN'Y0SHO
There is a controversy whether the word yati in line four means '[children]
of the same age' (Omodaka 1977.14: 134-35), or refers to sexual organs
(Mizushima 1986: 206-07). The latter explanation is mostly resting on an
assumption that a woman who already has children cannot be called kO 'girl',
but this is, of course, contestable. In addition, there are no other examples when
y6ti refers to sexual organs. On the other hand, yati ka 'child/girl of the same
age' is attested (Omodaka et al. 1967: 799). See, for example, 5.804 (line 13).
Therefore, I agree with Omodaka in the interpretation of this poem.
The poem probably conveys a marriage proposal from a man to a young
widow.
14.3440a (W)
*Jt
(1)
. Original (2)
text
~q:JJriiJ1131]\ ~16:~~.&1ff~ (3) R*Z~~tL£l (4) ~~-'f~£l<=jj1rE
(5) fjl-{~~~~m./J\
Romanization
(1) kono KApa:ni (2) asa na arap-u KO (3) masi mo are mo (4) yoti-wo so mot-
er-u (5) iNte KO taNpar-i-ni
Translation
(2) [Oh,] girl who washes vegetables in the morning (1) in this river! (3) Both
you and me (4) have [the children of] the same age. (5) Well, I will [go to]
receive [your] child [as mine].
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
The only major difference between 14.3440 and 14.3440a is the usage of
different second person pronouns in line three: rnasi vs. nare. The minor
difference is that the second focus particle rna is spelled as ~ rna in 14.3440
and as £l rna 14.3440a.
For the rest see the commentary to 14.3440.
14.3441 (W)
*Jt
(1)
. Original text
(2)
R*t¥1:llr'A.~ R~~1]\~E8j1rE (3) fjl-~#;~1]\ (4) fjl-t'\)PJfjl-~.&Jtt
(5) ~E8.~fJG~~
Romanization
(1) ma-topo-ku-no (2) kumowi-ni MI-y-uru (3) imo-Nka [i]pe-ni (4) itu ka itar-
am-u (5) ayum-e a-Nka koma
Translation
(4) When will [I] reach (3) the house of [my] beloved (2) that is seen in the
distance (1) very far away? (5) Walk [fast], my stallion!
Commentary
There are no distinctive EO] features in this poem.
On kumowi 'distance' see the commentary to 15.3627.
On kama 'stallion' see the commentary to 14.3387.
Translation
[A poem] from Kakinomot6-no asomi PitOmaro's poetic collection has t6po-ku
s-i-te [in the first line], ayum-e kuro koma [in the fifth line].
Commentary
The poem 14.3441a below looks almost like an allusive variation (honkadori,
**1& I) ) of the poem 7.1271 that is also said to be from Kaklnomot6-no
Asomi PitOmaro's poetic collection. Mizushima says that both poems 7.1271
and l4.3441a are the result of different transmissions. In any case, 14.3441 can
definitely be taken as an allusive variation of 14.3441a.
On KaklnomotO-no Asomi PitOmaro's poetic collection see the commentary
to the postscript to 14.3417.
Romanization
(1) topo-ku s-i-te (2) kumowi-ni MI-y-uru (3) imo-Nka [i]pe-ni (4) itu ka itar-
am-u (5) ayum-e kuro koma
134 MAN'Y0SHD
Translation
(4) When will [I] reach (3) the house of [my] beloved (2) that is seen in the
distance (1) far away? (5) Walk [fast], black stallion!
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
For the rest see the commentary to 14.3441 and commentary to the postscript
to 14.3441.
14.3442 (W)
*X . Original text
(1) *RJ#ii1JJ (2) ~~JJtiX~1th:~ (3) tJ~ffjHfJii=5 (4) ~J#/J\PJtfJi$-=8
(5) ~Hm.i&:~z/J\
Translation
(3) As [I] could not cross (2) 'Maiden calling slope' (I) on the road to ANtuma,
(4) Would [I] sleep in the mountains, (5) because there is no place to stay for
the night?!
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
OJ ANtuma is a collective name for Eastern and Northern provinces of
YamatO that corresponds to present-day Kanta and Tahoku regions.
The exact location of TeNko-no yoNp-i saka 'Maiden calling slope' is
unknown. It might have been the slope of Ta,go bay (EE1-=f (J) 1m) in present-day
Shizuoka prefecture, or Nananada slope (-tiJlt!=}z) to the east of Kanbara town
( nil ®: !lIT) in Ihara county (Jl ®: m) in present-day Shizuoka prefecture
(Nakanishi 1985: 465). Mizushima lists two more hypotheses in addition to the
second one and mentions that there are others, but notes that it is difficult to
confirm any ofthem (1986: 210).
On EOJ leNka ~ leNka-na 'maiden' see the commentary to 14.3384. This
word is certainly an EOJ word, but here it appears as a part of a placename,
BOOK FOURTEEN 135
therefore the attribution of the whole poem which has no other distinctive EOJ
features to the EOJ corpus is doubtful.
On OJ exclamative form -umo - -mo see the commentary to 15.3595.
14.3443 (W)
*X . Original text
(1) f.& =B~R (2) fafJHE R~~'l]\ (3) *-'f1~ntJJ (4) iBllE "j $ "j :tLiBl
(5) ~mg=Bl:1:: "j W£3:
Translation
(3) Because green willows (4) were standing and putting forth [their buds] (2) at
the road where I was going (1) unconcerned, (5) [I] went deeply [into my]
thoughts!
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
OJ ura 'inside', 'back' is used here metaphorically for heart as an internal
organ. See also 14.3495 and 14.3500 for the same usage.
On yaNki" 'willow' see the commentary to 5.817.
There is a significant difference in manuscripts in line five: the Genryaku
kohon, the Ruiju koshu, and the Hosoi-bon have R INtu/, while the Nishi
Honganji-bon and the Kishu-bon have § /[N]te/ (Mizushima 1984a: 214).
Because R has the antiquity advantage, and it can stand in the EOJ poems for
both INtu/ and /tu/, the fifth line !Io/.1B~·fJtRW£J: could be interpreted as mono
omop-f-tutu mo 'I was constantly thinking', but it makes no sense in the context
of the poem in general and in the light of line one in particular: the thinking
here must be a punctuated and not a continuous action. Thus, I agree in my
interpretation with Mizushima (1986: 211), but not with Omodaka (1977.14:
138).
On the OJ exclamative form -umo - -mo see the commentary to 15.3595.
136 MAN'YGSHU
Romanization
(1) Kipatuku-no (2) woka-no kuku-mira (3) ware tum-e-Nto (4) ko-ni mo not-
an-ap-u (5) se-na-tO tum-as-an-e
Translation
(3) Although I gather (2) stalk leeks at the hill (I) in Kipatuku (4) [I] still have
not filled [my] basket. (5) [I] wish [you] gather [them] together with [your]
beloved!
Commentary
The exact location of Kipatuku hill is unknown. It could have been located in
MakaNpe district (~~ms) of Pitati province (present-day Ibaraki prefecture)
(Omodaka 1977.14: 138), (Nakanishi 1985: 442), (Mizushima 1986: 212).
On kuku- 'stalk' see the commentary to 14.3406.
OJ mira 'leek' corresponds to MdJ nira 'id.', which is a perennial grass with
leaves about 2-30 em high. It has strong odor. Its spring leaves are delicious,
and it blooms in summer with white flowers that have purple stripes. It was
brought to Japan from China.
In spite of the fact that all manuscripts have )J~~~ not-an-ap-u 'fill-
NEG-ITER-FIN, many editions of the Man 'yoshu 'correct' it to more palatable
and more WOJ-looking ~~~~ mit-an-an-ap-u 'id.' (Mizushima 1984a: 216-
17). The shift m- > n- /_i can be easily explained as palatalization, and then the
shift i > 0 [;:l] can be taken as vowel reduction. However, there is no other
evidence for the shift i > 0 [;:l] in EOJ. Like Omodaka (1977.14: 138) and
Mizushima (1986: 212), I follow here the manuscript tradition rather than later
commentators' interpretations. Possibly we are dealing here with a unique EOJ
verb not- 'to fill'.
The evidential -e- is misspelled as -e- probably due to the lack of contrast
between e and e in the EOJ dialect underlying this poem.
On the specific EOJ order of morphemes -(a)n-ap- 'NEG-ITER' see the
commentary to 14.3375. This poem has EOJ specific order of morphemes -(a)n-
ap- 'NEG-ITER' (vs. WOJ order -ap-an- 'ITER-NEG') also attested in other
Pitat~ poems (14.3394), so this poem should be classified as a poem from Pitati
provmce.
This poem looks like a collective production, composed by two authors:
lines one to four belonging to one, and line five to another (Nakanishi 1981:
263).
I wonder whether this poem has any allusion to the following lines from the
poem #3 in the Book of Songs (Shijing, ~~*3f):
BOOK FOURTEEN 137
14.3445 (E)
*Jt . Ori~nal text
(1) ~*JJ"b (2) *Z~*RJ~~mE (3) ~J#rJJ~*" (4) RJfljGfo~WrJJ (5) ~
~q: JJ~:t:,1i!'!3J\
Translation
(5) In order to get [our] bed separated [from the eyes of others], (4) my dear
beloved, come to cut (4) beautiful little sedges (2) in the middle of the reeds (1)
in the harbor.
Commentary
*
The first line is hypometric (jitarazu, JE: GT).
OJ mfnato 'harbor' etymologically goes back to mf-, honorific prefix, na
'water', and to 'door'. On OJ na 'water' see the commentaries to 5.902 and
14.3366.
OJ asi 'reed' is a perennial grass about 2 m high. It grows at the waterfronts
and has long flat roots in the ground. Its stalks are hollow and have joints. Its
leaves have the same shape as bamboo grass (sasa, tfE). In autumn it develops
ears from multiI?1.e small striped purple flowers. Its stalks are used for making
blinds (sudare, JlIl:).
On OJ suNke 'sedge' see the commentary to 14.3369.
Little privacy was afforded to couples in the houses of commoners in the
Nara period. Therefore, this poem should be taken as an invitation to have
sexual intercourse outside the house, where there would not be too many prying
eyes (Mizushima 1986: 214).
On the EOJ palatalization t > S before i appearing in peNtas-i < peNtat-i see
the commentary to 14.3395.
Romanization
(1) imo-na-ro-Nka (2) tuk-ap-u kapa-N-tu-no (3) sasara woNki: (4) asi to pitO-N-
koto (5) katar-i-yor-asi-mo
Translation
(4/5) It looks like the rumors reached [me] that (3) a small reed (1/2) in the river
harbor, where [my] dear beloved soaks herself[in water], (4) is bad / [is] a reed!
Commentary
See the commentary to 14.3402 for the string of two diminutive suffixes.
Most commentators tend to see tukap- as 'to use [for washing]' (Omodaka
1977.14: 141), (Mizushima 1986: 215), but I believe it can be better analyzed as
tuk- 'be soaked in' + -ap-, iterative.
EOJ sasara 'small' is probably the same word as saNsare 'id.' in saNsare-
[i}si 'pebble' in 14.3400.
OJ woNId 'common reed' (gj(, Miscanthus sacchariflorus) is a perennial
grass 1.5 m high growing at the waterfronts. It has thin hollow stalks and joints.
It looks like susukf 'Japanese pampas grass' (see the commentary to 15.3681),
but its ears are bigger. The stalks were traditionally used for thatching roofs.
WoNId 'common reed' is different from asi 'reed', on which see the
commentary to 14.3445.
This poem includes a play on words asi 'reed' and 'bad', so it is difficult to
interpret it exactly and translate. There are practically as many ways of
interpretation as there are commentators of the Man 'yoshii. I follow Mizushima
that views this poem as a man's reproach of his wife or lover for adultery (1986:
216). WoNId 'common reed' is probably a symbol for a rival. Note that it is
smaller than a regular reed asi, which represents the author himself.
Consequently, the rumor is that woNki' is called asi, in other words, it/he is
trying to replace the husband (or a previous lover), and this is bad.
BOOK FOURTEEN 139
Romanization
(1) kusa kaNke-no (2) Ano-na yuk-am-u to (3) par-i-si miti (4) Ana pa yuk-
aNs-u-te (5) ara kusa-N-tat-i-n-u
Translation
(3) The road that [they] cleared (2) with intention to go to Ana (1) that is in
grass shadow (5) has been overgrown with rough grass (4) because [no one]
goes to Ana.
Commentary
Kusa kaNke-no is supposed to be a permanent epithet (makura-kotoba, tt~jfJ) to
Ana (Omodaka 1977.14: 144), (Mizushima 1986: 217), but this may not be
necessarily so for two reasons: (a) placename Ana occurs only in this poem in
the Man 'yoshU, and (b) kusa kaNke-no is also attested just one more time before
the placename Arawi in 12.3192. Even if it is a permanent epithet, it can be
translated, because it is absolutely transparent.
The exact location of Ana is not known. There are two main hypotheses: one
identifies it with Ana manor (~iiJ!Hf) in SuruNka province (corresponding to
Ide (#t±l) in Numazu city (fdi$m) in present-day Shizuoka prefecture), and
another with Ano village C~ilH) in Age county C~~tl15) in present-day Mie
prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 418), (Mizushima 1986: 217). However, as
Mizushima notes, it is unlikely that a placename in Mie prefecture would appear
in an Eastern poem (1986: 217).
EOJ -na is a locative case marker. See also 14.3408 and 14.3461.
Romanization
(1) pana-N-tir-ap-u (2) kono muka-tu wo n-o (3) Wona-no wo-no (4) piNsi-ni
tuk-u-maNte (5) kimi-Nka yo moNkamo
140 MAN'Y0SHO
Translation
(5) [I] wish [my] lord would live (4) until (3) the peak of Wona, (2) which is the
peak on the opposite side, (1) where flowers are falling, (4) will reach the
sandbanks [in the sea].
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem except the EOJ word pfNsi
'sandbank, sandbar'.
The exact location of the peak of Wona is not known. It probably was
located in Kamiona (J::J~J3~) or Simoona Cf J~JJ~) areas of Inasa county (ij Iftc
W) in present-day Shizuoka prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 500), (Mizushima
1986: 219).
EOJ pfNsi. , sandbank, sandbar' is a~ interes~ing word. B!sides this poem it is
attested only In a fragment from Osuml Fudoki (7\:Il/l\Jl1.±liC) as a Hayato word
pfsi (~,;0) 'sandbank' (Akimoto 1958: 526). Cf. also Okinawan hwisi 'rocks
and sandbanks that become visible during low tide'. However, since there
seems to be no evidence from South Ryiikyii for the same word, Japanese and
Okinawan words are possibly loans from Ainu pis 'shore', which might have
entered Ryukyuan prior to the proto-Ryukyuan migration to the Ryukyuan
islands. The prenasalized voiced in EOJ pfNsi is probably due to the fact that
the word was borrowed into EOJ in its Ainu possessive form pis-i [pizi] or
[piZi] 'its shore'.
Romanization
(1) siro tape-l)o (2) koromo-no soNte-wo (3) mak-u/MakuraNka-yo (4) ama
koNk-!-k-u MI-y-u (5) nam! tat-una yume
Translation
(4) [I] see the fishermen who come rowing here (3) from MakuraNka, where
[they] use for pillows (2) the sleeves of garments (1) [made] from white
mulberry tree bark cloth. (5) Waves, do not rise at all!
BOOK FOURTEEN 141
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
On siro tape-no '[made] from the white cloth of the mulberry tree bark' see
the commentary to 15.3607. On tape 'cloth made from the mulberry tree bark'
see the commentary to 15.3587.
The exact location of MakuraNka is not known, but it is supposed to be in
the vicinity of KoNka (m:fJG) that is believed to correspond to Furukawa city
m)
( [!J tiiJ in the part of present-day Ibaraki prefecture that belonged to
Simotupusa province (Nakanishi 1985: 484), (Mizushima 1986: 220).
Romanization
(1) Wokusa-wo-tO (2) WoNkusa-N-suke-wo-to (3) sipo-pune-no (4) naraNpe-te
mi-re-Npa (5) WoNkusa kat-i-mer-i
Translation
(4) When [I] see (1) a man from Wokusa and (2) an assistant man from
WoNkusa (4) standing side by side (3) like sea boats, (5) it seems [to me] that
WoNkusa['s side] wins.
Commentary
Both Wokusa and WoNkusa are placenames with unknown location. Nakanishi
suggests the possibility that both may be the same placename (1985: 499), but 1
follow here the point of view that considers them to be different (Omodaka
1977.14: 147), (Mizushima 1986: 221).
Since suke 'assistant' is a nominalization of the verb suke- 'to help', EOJ
suke 'assistant' in this poem is a 'misspelling', which probably indicates that the
contrast between eand ewas non-existent in this particular EOJ dialect.
Sipo-pune 'tide-boat' is a 'sea boat' that is a boat used for sailing in the sea,
not a river or a lake.
EOJ naraNpe- is misspelled with e (cf. WOJ naraNpe-), which probably
indicates that the contrast between e and e was non-existent in this particular
EOJ dialect. See also the same phenomenon in suM 'assistant' above.
Conjectural auxiliary -mer- has a unique attestation in this poem in the whole
Old Japanese corpus. It must be taken as an EOJ feature, not only because it is
not attested in WOJ, but also because it is clearly an auxiliary in EOJ that is
142 MAN'YQSHU
Romanization
(1) Sanatura-no (2) woka-ni apa mak-i (3) kanasi-ki-Nka (4) kama pa taNk-u
Wma (5) wa pa sa to [o]map-aNsi
Translation
(2) [I] have sown millet at the hill (1) in Sanatura, (3/4) and even if the stallion
of my darling eats [it], (5) 1 would not think to shoo it away.
Commentary
The exact location of Sanatura hill is unknown. It could possibly be located in
the vicinity of Sakatura Isozaki shrine (i'@7IJ~w.trt$t±) in Nakaminato city om
BiJ¥* $) in present-day Ibaraki prefecture. There is also a hypothesis suggesting
a location in Chiba prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 449).
OJ apa 'foxtail millet' is an annual crop that is planted around June in dry
fields, and it ripens in the fall. It has yellow grain and is included in 'Five
cereals', four others being rice (kame, *), wheatlbarley (muNki, ~), beans
(mame, .£1..), and millet (kiNpi,35 *).
On kama 'stallion' see the commentary to 14.3387.
OJ taNke- 'eat', 'drink' is a rare verb.
OJ so 'shoo' is a word used to chase away horses.
The only EOJ feature of this poem is first person pronoun wa 'I' found
before topic marker pa. 36 There are no phonographic WOJ examples of wa pa
except 20.4408, but this is a poem written by Yakamoti as an imitation of a
Sakimari poem, so the usage there is likely to be influenced by EOJ.
Romanization
(1) omosiro-ki (2) NO-woNpa na-yak-I-so (3) puru kusa-ni (4) nipI kusa
maNsir-i (5) opi"-Npa op-uru Nkani
Translation
(1/2) Do not bum the charming field (4/5) so that the new grass, if[it] grows, is
mixed (3) with the old grass.
Commentary
OJ omosiro- 'charming, attractive' etymologically consists of omo 'face' and
siro 'white'.
OJ puru 'old' and nipf 'new' are uninflected adjectives. On uninflected
adjectives see Vovin (2009a: 429-39).
The only EOJ feature in this poem is conjunction Nkani 'so that', which
corresponds to WOJ Nkane 'id.' EOJ Nkani ~ WOJ Nkane 'so that' always
follows the attributive forms of verbs and is not to be confused with both WOJ
and EOJ conjunction Nkani 'like', which follows the final form of verbs. For
details see Vovin (2009a: 1147-51).
A partially similar poem is found in the Ise monogatari (fjt~!Io/.J~) and its
variant in the Kohn wakashu (r!l-fifoWz.):
Romanization
(I) kaze-no [o]to-no (2) topo-ki wa-Nk-imo-Nka (3) ki-se-si kinu (4) tarnoW-no
kuNtar-i (5) may6p-i-k-i-n-i-ker-i
Translation
(5) [I] suddenly realized that (4) The lower edges of sleeves (1/2/3) [of] the
garment that my beloved, which is as far away as the sound of the wind, made
[me] wear (5) became frayed.
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
On OJ tamoto 'sleeve edge, wrist' see the commentary to 5.804.
Omodaka understands kuNtar-i here as the whole sleeve from shoulder to a
wrist (1977.14: 151), but this contradicts the meaning of tamoto 'sleeve edge'.
Mizushima takes tamoto-no kuNtar-i as 'around the opening of the sleeve' (1m
I=l (]) ~ t:: IJ ) (1986: 226), which makes more sense. I translate it as 'lower
edges of sleeves' .
Romanization
(l) nipa-ni tat-u (2) asa-N-te k6-N-pusuma (3) ko yopi Ntani (4) tuma yos-i-
kose-n-e (5) asa-N-te k6-N-pusuma
Translation
(2) [Oh, my] dear bedding [made] from the hemp (I) that grows in the garden!
(4) [I] wish [you would] bring [my] spouse close [to me] (3) just tonight. (5)
[Oh, my] dear bedding [made] from the hemp!
BOOK FOURTEEN 145
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
On OJ nipa 'garden' see the commentary to 15.3609.
On asa-N-pusuma 'hemp cover' see the commentary to 5.892. On WOJ
pusuma 'cover, bedding' see the commentary to 15.3587.
f§1Jf)
Relationship poems
Romanization
(1) k6pIsi-keNpa (2) k-i-mas-e wa-Nka se-k6 (3) kaki-tu YANkI (4) ure tum-i
kar-as-i (5) ware tat-i mat-am-u
Translation
(1) If [you] are longing [for me], (2) please come, my beloved! (4) Plucking the
ends [of branches] (3) [of] willows at the fence, (4) and letting [them] wither, (5)
I will stand and wait [for you].
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
'Plucking the ends of branches of willows at the fence and making them
whither' seems like a strange action to do while waiting for one's lover, so it
requires an explanation. Mizushima lists several possible explanations, such as;
(a) making it easier for a man to cross the fence in secret, (b) clearing the vision
field in order to make it easier to see whether the man is coming or not, (c)
killing time during the long time of waiting, indicating option (c) as the
preferable one (1986: 230). Unless some unknown ritual is involved here (and
without another independent piece of evidence it would be impossible to
confirm that it is indeed a ritual), Mizushima's suggestion seems to be the most
probable one.
146 MAN'Y0SHO
14.3456 (E)
*X . Orig~nal text
(1) fWtit~tm (2) W:~Ht~JJ~~ (3) ,~,*ttA.~-a (4) tJi ~~J::tl'iJ*}Ji5.
(5) tJi-'¥-~t~~~J3~
Romanization
(1) utu semi-no (2) yaso kotO-no pe pa (3) siNke-ku t6mo (4) arasop-i-kane-te
(5) a-wo koto nas-una
Translation
(2/3) Although many rumors are growing thick (1) in [this] ephemeral world, (5)
do not talk about me, (4) failing to resist.
Commentary
On ulu semi 'ephemeral cicada' see the commentary to 15.3617. Here it is used
in the meaning of 'ephemeral world' (Mizushima 1986: 231).
OJ yaso 'eighty' < ya 'eight' + -so, bound morpheme 'ten' in decades. OJ
yaso 'eighty' can be used metaphorically in the meaning 'many', cf., for
example, one of the ancient names for Japan, yaso sima-no kuni 'land of many
(lit. 'eighty') islands'.
EOJ pe 'leaf (vs. WOJ pa 'id.') is the only witness to this poem's EOJ
nature. Omodaka argued thatpe must be a 'layer', and not a 'leaf, because the
OJ uncontracted form kolo-no pa 'leaves of words' is not attested in OJ texts,
where only contracted WOJ koloNpa or EOJ keloNpa appear (1977.14: 231).
This objection, of course, is quite lame linguistically, as we cannot expect that
the OJ corpus would necessarily contain both contracted and uncontracted
forms in all cases. Thus, for example, only the contracted form ap-umi 'lake'
(lit. 'fresh water sea') is attested, but the uncontracted for *apa mID is not. In
addition, the expression kolo-no pe 'layers of words' is not attested at all.
Therefore, in spite of the fact that EOJ pe 'leaf is hapax legomenon, it serves as
a better explanation for the text than pe 'layer'.
14.3457 (W)
*X . Orig~nal text
(1) f~ s ~~ (2) ~W:tmfpfttit~ (3) w:~~tz:JJ (4) J::t!ft~tA.;!t~1]\
(5) tJi-'¥-fp~~~J{~
Romanization
(1) uti PI sas-u (2) miya-no wa-Nka se pa (3) Yamato ME-no (4) piNsa mak-u
NkOto n-i (5) a-wo wasur-as-una
Translation
(2) My beloved from the palace (1) that the sun shines upon, (3/4) every time
[you] use the knees ofa Yamato woman as a pillow, (5) do not forget me!
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
On uti pi sas-u see the commentary to 5.886
With the exception of Takagi et al. who interpret miya-no wa-Nka se as 'you
who are in the palace' (Takagi et al. 1959: 432), Tsuchiya analyzing it as 'my
beloved who is in the palace' (1977.7: 314), and Nakanishi treating it as 'my
beloved who goes away to the palace' (1981: 265), most Japanese
commentators are quite unanimous in explaining this phrase as 'my
belovedlhusband who went to serve/serves [as a guard] at the palace' (Kubota
1967: 208), (Kojima et al. 1973: 476), (Omodaka 1977.14: 156), (Mizushima
1986: 232), (Ito 1997: 435), (Satake et al. 2002: 345). To my taste, the latter
approach is a stretch of imagination: there is no evidence that the husband or
lover was recruited as a palace guard, he could well be an aristocrat from the
capital taking a temporary sojourn in the East as the governor of a province, or
other relatively high functionary. The fact that this poem is composed by a
woman in pure WOJ defmitely tells us that neither she nor her loverlhusband
were from the class of local hill-billies. Thus, my understanding of miya-no wa-
Nka se is 'my beloved from the palace'.
Romanization
(1) na se n-o kwo ya (2) Tori-no woka ti si (3) naka-N-tawore (4) a-wo ne si
nak-u yo (5) ikuNtuk-u-maNte-ni
Translation
(1) Oh, my beloved, (3) the saddle on (2) the hilly road to Tori [which you
crossed going away] (4) makes me cry so loudly, (5) that [I need to] catch my
breath.
Commentary
I follow the point of view of Takagi et al. who take na in the fIrst line as the
fIrst person singular pronoun 'I' (1959: 432), and not as second person singular
pronoun 'you', the point of view adopted by the majority of modem
commentators (Kubota 1967: 209), (Kojima et al. 1973: 476), (Tsuchiya
1977.7: 315), (Omodaka 1977.14: 157), (Nakanishi 1981: 266), (Mizushima
1986: 233), (Ito 1997: 433), (Satake et al. 2002: 345). Na 'you' hardly makes
any sense here, and na 'I' is a pronoun borrowed from Korean: for details see
Vovin (2005: 245-46).
The exact location of Tori hill is unknown. Nakanishi suggests that it might
be in the vicinity of Taiyo village (::kr$H) in Kashima county (Jm~m) of
present-day Ibaraki prefecture (1985: 468). Whether the name of the hill is
connected etymologically with the word tori 'bird' is unclear, but may be likely.
On OJ ti 'road' see the commentary to 15.3608.
EOJ tawore has many different explanations. I follow here Omodaka's
analysis of this word as corresponding to WOJ tawori 'mountain saddle', which
in its turn goes back to the explanation found in the Man 'y6shu Ryakuge 37
(1977.14: 158). The EOJ form tawore is probably archaic, reflecting original PJ
*-e that raised to -i in WOJ in most cases.
EOJ ikuNtuk- 'to catch one's breath, to breathe with diffIculty' corresponds
to WOJ ikfNtuk- 'id.'
14.3459 (W)
*X
(1)
. Original text
(2) I5J1JDmE:tcfX-=¥->¥- (3)
{jl-tfJ;t'J)*"~ llf~l:t~ I5J (4) ~~J:7fDRi!J}jfX
(5) ~m s*~I5JlI:t
fli~ O)~~ r
t.., • Kana transliteration
(1) v'tV::>lt 21:f(2) ;l,P7.J"0~7.J~-C~ (3)':' 2J:: 2"U'1 t 17.J"(4) ~ 20)20)2
:b <:::.'
17.J~ (5) ~ 2 I) -C f,tlf" 27.J"U
Romanization
(1) ine tuk-e-Npa (2) kakar-u a-Nka TE-wo (3) ko yopi rna ka (4) Wno-no
waku-N-ka-Nka (5) Wr-i-te naNkek-am-u
Translation
(3/4/5) [I] wonder whether [I] will lament tonight as the youngest son of the
noble takes (2) my hand that is chapped (1) because [I] pound rice.
37 On the Man 'yoshu Ryakuge see the Introduction to book fifteen, p. 14.
BOOK FOURTEEN 149
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
In the particle sequence rno ka in line three rno is a focus particle, and ka is
an interrogative particle.
The primary meaning of OJ tono is 'mansion of a noble'. However, by
conversion it also can mean 'noble' (Omodaka et al. 1967: 497).
I agree with Mizushima' s assessment of the poem as expressing the sadness
of the woman (19856: 237), and not her bashfulness and joy (Omodaka
1977.14: 159).
14.3460 (E)
*Jt . Original text
(I) ~*L~~q:flli (2) ~1i~.pM'~:*::mt (3) 1]\~~*1]\ (4) flJ;fXiit-'f~m "j
(5) fjl"iBl ~~q: flli.p -'f
Romanization
(1) tare so kono (2) YA-n~o TO os6Npur-u (3) nipu naml-ni (4) wa-Nka se-wo
yar-i-te (5) ipap-u kono TO-wo
Translation
(1/2) Who pushes and shakes the door of this house? (5) This door [behind
which I] purify myself (4) after sending my husband away (3) at the new [rice]
tasting [festival].
Commentary
EOJ nipu 'new' corresponds to WOJ nipi id.' The latter also occurs in EOJ (see
14.3452).
EOJ narni"- 'to lick, to taste' corresponds to WOJ narne- 'id.', however for
the name of the new rice tasting festival nipi nape with the verb nape- 'to lick,
to taste' was used in WOJ.
This poem presents the situation when during the food offering of the new
rice to deities there was a taboo for men to enter the house. Here this taboo is
preserved, but cf. 14.3386, where it is clearly violated. In this poem the woman
apparently sends away an unwanted suitor who wanted to sneak in on her
during her husband's absence.
150 MAN'yOsHD
Romanization
(I) aNse to ip-e ka (2) sa-NE-ni ap-an-aku n-i (3) MA-PI kure-te (4) yopi-na pa
ko-n-a-ni (5) ake-n-o siNta k-uru
Translation
(1) Why is it so? (2) [We] do not meet to sleep here [together], because (4) [you]
do not come at night (3) after the bright day grows dark, and (5) [only] come
when it dawns.
Commentary
Lines one and two are hypermetric (jiamari, *;#; IJ ), but this is probably just a
graphic illusion, since to ipe and ni apanaku was in all probability pronounced
as [tipe] - [tope] and [napanaku] respectively.
Evidential form ip-e of the verb ip- 'to say' has the vowel e instead ofWOJ e
(WOJ ip-e). Thus, the contrast between e and e was probably non-existent in the
EOJ dialect that underlies this poem.
EOJ ko-n-a-ni 'without coming', 'because [one] does not come' functionally
corresponds to WOJ ko-n-u-ni. Cf. very similar formation -an-a-na, with an
EOJ-specific locative -na in 14.3408.
EOJ -na is a locative case marker. See also 14.3408 and 14.3447. It is
interesting that in this poem both locatives -na and -ni are found.
On EOJ perfective attributive -n-o see the commentary to 14.3395.
On EO] siNta 'time' see the commentary to 14.3363.
14.3462 (W)
*:>c . Original text
(I) ~$!t~JJ (2) ~*16:iEl~lt~JJ (3) J;1::~16:iBUJ\ (4) Jff*~{j3"1tJ#'~
(5) ~~'l]\J:iT*i~,16:
Romanization
(I) asi pikI n-o (2) yama sapa-N-pito-no (3) pitO sapa n-i (4) Mana to ip-u KO-
Nka (5) aya n-i kanasi-sa
BOOK FOURTEEN 151
Translation
(4) The girl whom (3) many people (2) among people [living along] the
mountain stream (1) with low feet (4) call Mana (5) is extremely dear [to me].
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
On asi pfkr n-o 'with low foot' see the commentary to 15.3655.
The first two lines may be a poetic introduction (ja, ff:) to the rest of the
poem (Mizushima 1986: 240), but this is by no means certain, because the poem
can be understood in the way it is translated here without having any ja-like
structure. There is certainly a phonetic play on words sapa 'mountain stream'
and sapa 'many'. .
The most likely meaning of the personal name Mana is 'Loveliness' or
'lovely', as in OJ mana kO 'lovely girl' (Omodaka 1977.14: 162).
14.3463 (E)
*X
(1)
. Original text
~~f*Rflli (2) !l!f1J\~~i&~.$ (3) c~q:g~!A. (4) f&:]J JJ~~PJ1J\
(5) ~~mtitt~PJ e
{&~ O).~ r L. • Kana transliteration
(1) ~ ~ 2 <
11 0) 2 (2) 0) 11::. t 1 ibl:l:f~tr (3) :. 2:' 2 6 2 f~ < (4) 2: ~ I
0) 2:J;. 2 f~ 1.»1::. (5) ib"'- 1 0 i±1~ 1.» t 2
Romanization
(1) ma-topo-ku n-o (2) NO-ni mo ap-an-am-u (3) kokoro na-ku (4) sato-no mi-
naka-ni (5) ap-er-u se-na kamo
Translation
(1/2) [I] would like to meet [you] even in a distant field (5) oh, [my] beloved
whom [I] was meeting (3) thoughtlessly (4) in the middle of the village!
Commentary
EOJ -na is a diminutive suffix corresponding to WOJ -ra.
In this poem a woman expresses desire to meet with her lover in a distant
field away from the prying eyes in the village. For similar poems see 14.3405
and 14.3405a.
152 MAN'YQSHU
Romanization
(1) pito-N-kotO-no (2) siNke-ki-ni yor-i-te (3) ma-woN-komo-no (4) oyaNsi
makura pa (5) wa pa mak-aNsi ya rna
Translation
(1/2) [Just] because the rumors [about us] are frequent, (5) would not I use (4)
the same pillow (3) [made] of [the stalks of] the wild rice? [- Certainly I would!]
Commentary
The only EOJ feature of this poem is the topic focus particle pa following wa '1'.
For details see the commentary to 14.3377 and 14.345l.
OJ kama 'wild rice' is a perennial plant that grows in clusters in marshes and
ponds. It has quite broad long leaves and thick column-shaped round stalks
growing upright. In the fall it blooms with pale purple flowers. The leaves and
stalks of kama are used for making mats, headrests, etc. (Nakanishi 1985: 314),
(Mizushima 1986: 242-43). By conversion, OJ kama also means 'mat made
from wild rice' .
OJ oyaNsi 'same' is apparently related to OJ onaNsi 'id.', the latter surviving
into the modem Japanese language. The correspondence -y- to -n- is unique to
this pair, and so far has no satisfactory explanation.
The 'same pillow' indicates the pillow used when sleeping together. In the
Nara period pillows (actually headrests) were long and just one was used by a
couple sleeping together (Mizushima 1986: 243).
14.3465 (E)
;;f>:Jt • Ori2inal text
(1) 8Wf1j\~'5 (2) tt~~f:tftcf(2j (3) Y.xtJTEftfif1j\ (4) *ttiftg~RJ-a
(5) *11Z1j\PJ~zf:t
Romanization
(1) Koma nisiki (2) pima tok-i-sake-te (3) n-uru-Nka [u]pe-ni (4) aN-to se-ro to
kamo (5) aya n-i kanasi-ki
BOOK FOURTEEN 153
Translation
(3) Besides (2) untying [her garment's] cords (1) [made of] Koguryo brocade
and (3) sleeping [with her], I wonder what [else should I] do? (5) [She] is
extremely dear [to me].
Commentary
K6ma is the Old Japanese name for the northern Korean kingdom of Koguryo
Romanization
(1) ma-kanasi-mi (2) n-ure-Npa kotb-ni [i]Nt-u (3) sa-ne-n-ap-e-Npa (4)
kokoro-no WO-ro-ni (5) nor-i-te kanasi-mo
Translation
(1/2) When [I] sleep with her, because [she] is really dear [to me], there are
rumors. (3) When [I] continue not to sleep [with her], (4/5) [she] is riding on
[my] heart's little cord, as [she] is dear [to me]!
Commentary
On specific EOJ order of morphemes -(a)n-ap- 'NEG-ITER' see the
commentary to 14.3375.
The evidential form is spelled as -e- (cf. WOJ -e-) that probably indicates
that the contrast between eand if was non-existent in the dialect of this poem.
Heart's cord is a metaphor for a long-lasting feeling. Therefore, more
fiction-based translation might be something like 'she is always in my heart'.
14.3467 (W)
*Jt . Original text
(1) M'R;&~1lli (2) ~*JJ{jt~~-,¥- (3) ~*t~z S (4) flJ:ftl:l:& PJftt1J\
(5) {jtflj15i:5.~ft1fJ\
fli~ (J)ili! r .
~ Kana transliteration
(1) <
:to ~ ~ (J) 2 (2) ~ 2: 2(J) 2 It \ t~ c' I ~ (3) t 2 t" 2 t 2 ~ -c (4) :b tJ~"(} I
-c
GtJ~"tJ>f;: (5) It \ ~ 2: I t~ ~;p
Romanization
(1) oku yama-no (2) MA-KI-no ita-N-to-wo (3) tONtO to s-i-te (4) wa-Nka
pirak-am-u-ni (5) ir-i-k-i-te n-as-an-e
Translation
(4) Because I will open (3) when [you] knock (2) on a wooden door [made] of a
real tree (1) from deep mountains, (5) [I] wish [you] come in and sleep [with
me].
BOOK FOURTEEN 155
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
There is a problem on how to parse the third line. Some modem
commentators believe that it is onomatopoetic word toNtoto followed by the
verb se- 'to do' (Omodaka 1977.14: 166), (Tsuchiya 1977.7: 323), (Mizushima
1986: 248), while others are inclined to see it as onomatopoetic word toNto +
defective verb to (Takagi et al. 1959: 434), (Kojima et al. 1973: 478), (Kubota
1967: 214), (Nakanishi 1981: 267), (Ito 1997: 448), (Satake 2002: 348).
There is also another disagreement: while some scholars maintain that toNto
or toNtoto refer to woman's action opening or pushing the door with a rap
(Takagi et al. 1959: 434), (Kojima et al. 1973: 478), (Kubota 1967: 214),
(Tsuchiya 1977.7: 323), (Ito 1997: 448), (Satake et al. 2002: 348), others think
that it describes a man's knocking on the door (Omodaka 1977.14: 166),
(Nakanishi 1981: 267), (Mi~shilJla 1986: 248).
Since there is UMA OTO-NO toNto to rna S-URE-NPA 'when the horse's
[hooves] are making toNto sound' attested in 11.2653, it is much more likely
that this onomatopoetic word refers to knocking rather than to door-opening
sound. Cf. also MdJ toN-toN referring to knocking or to the sound made by
noisy feet. Finally, given the fact that one of the ways of forming
onomatopoetic construction is to add the defective verb to after an
onomatopoetic word, 1 think that the onomatopoetic word in question here is
toNto, not toNtOlo, and that it refers to a man's knocking on the door.
*X
(1)
.
14.3468 (E)
Ori~nal text
:&~tf-'EJJ (2) -'¥-8fmimt'fF¥-/J\ (3) RJ~~RJ* (4) ]J~;ffifff~~q:~
(5) ~/J\l}~:flji,~*
Romanization
(1) yama-N-tori-no (2) wo-ro-no patu wo-ni (3) kaNkami kake (4) tonap-uNpe-
mi koso (5) na-ni yosor-i-kem-e
Translation
(3) [I] hung the mirror (2) on the fIrst [harvest's] hemp that is like the tail (1) of
a mountain bird, (4) and as [I] had to recite [the incantation], (5) [I] gave my
heart to you.
Commentary
This poem is notoriously difficult to interpret and understand. There are
multiple theories, but none of them is completely accepted. The reason for this,
1 believe, is that we are dealing here with a description of a ritual. This ritual
156 MAN'YOSHU
was clearly connected with the first harvest of hemp, and it was probably
conducted by women, as magic incantations were done by women. Other details,
such as the exact role of the mirror, and why is it hung on the hemp, remain
unclear. I follow rather closely in my interpretation and translation the analysis
and interpretation by Mizushima (1986: 249-50). Compare, for example,
Omodaka's interpretation according to which the mirror is hung opposite the
mountain bird's tail, and that it is the bird which sings, and not the woman
(1977.14: 167-69).
OJ yama-N-tori 'mountain bird' refers to a bird that looks like a pheasant,
but is bigger. Its body has yellowish black color with reddish black spots. Two
feathers in the tail are unusually long (Omodaka et al. 1967: 772).
On the EOJ diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
The infinitive fonn kake 'hang and' is spelled with e (cf. WOJ kake-) that
probably indicates that the contrast between e and e was non-existent in the
dialect of this poem.
On the ritual function of mirrors as well as on the double meaning of the OJ
verb kake- 'to hang', 'to have someone in one's heart' see the commentary to
15.3765.
Romanization
(1) yupu ke-ni rna (2) ko yopi to nor-ar-a (3) wa-Nka se-na pa (4) aNse so mo
ko yopi (5) yosir-o-k-i-[i]mas-an-a
Translation
(1) In the evening divination (2) it was revealed: 'Tonight [he will come].' (4)
Why then tonight (3) my dear beloved (5) does not come close?
Commentary
OJ ke 'divination' occurs only with preceding yupu 'evening'. Mizushima
comments that this kind of divination was perfonned by going to the crossroads
and figuring out future fortune or misfortune by listening to the words of
passers-by (1986: 251).
On the EOJ verbal attributive -0 see the commentary to 14.3395 and a brief
description of EOJ special grammar in the introduction.
EOJ yosiro- is a hapax legomenon. We can figure out from the context that it
should somehow correspond to yosor-i 'approach-INF', but the main problem is
BOOK FOURTEEN 157
Romanization
(1) api-MI-te pa (2) TI tOse ya in-urn (3) ina wo kamo (4) are ya sika [o]mop-u
(5) kimi mat-i-Nkate-n-i
Translation
(1) Since [we] have seen each other, (2) did one thousand years pass? (3)
Whether it is so or not, (4) did 1 think so (5) because [I] cannot wait [to see my]
lord?
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
Commentary
On KakinomotO-no asoml PitOmaro's poetic collection see the commentary to
the postscript to 14.3417.
14.3471 (W)
*X . Original text
(1) ,~,Jff~R~ (2) tfJiih~£fp: ~-$-'¥- (3) {jt*Im*1J\ (4) £3:~*J!~m~
(5) *-'¥-tfJi,~,*RmE
Romanization
(1) simara-ku pa (2) ne-tutu mo ar-am-u-wo (3) ime-noml-ni (4) motOna MYI-
ye-tutu (5) a-wo ne si nak-uru
Translation
(2) Although [I] intended to sleep (1) for a while, (4) for no reason [you]
continue to appear (3) just in [my] dreams, and (5) make me cry loudly.
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
OJ simaraku 'for a while' must be taken as an infinitive form of an inflected
adjective simara-, in spite of the fact that no other paradigmatic forms appear in
OJ texts, because an uninflected adjective simara is also attested (Omodaka et
al. 1967: 368).
The second line is hypermetric (jiamari, ~~ ~ ), but this is probably just a
graphic illusion, since ma aramu was in all probability pronounced as [maramu].
14.3472 (E)
*X . Original text
(1) J::t1t£l.,*~ (2) *~ !=iTw-Sf-fJtiB(-$ (3) it !=iT &~1JD (4) )J~mJJf~fr~-Sf
(5) !=iT m "5 f~~iB( =E
Romanization
(1) pito-N-tuma to (2) aNse ka so-wo ip-am-u (3) sika-[a]r-aNpa ka (4) tonari-
no kinu-wo (5) kar-i-te ki-n-ap-am-o
Translation
(2) Why should [they] call her (1) the wife of [another] man? (3) If it were so,
(5) [one] would not be borrowing (4) a garment from a neighbor, right?
Commentary
Married women were certainly a taboo for courting by other men, but not every
man, like the author of this poem, agreed with this social rule. In this poem an
attempt is made to ridicule this rule by putting on the same level borrowing a
garment from a neighbor with borrowing someone else's wife. Another poem
demonstrating a similar attitude is 4.517.
BOOK FOURTEEN 159
14.3473 (E)
*::t . Original text
(1) h::~:&Jff1J\ (2) "F1mlli-'¥-flli1!JJ (3) ~:j§PJ!li£3: (4) t1J\=8~PJ5lg~
(5) ~S31J\~~1m~
Romanization
(I} Sano yama-ni (2) ut-u ya wono [o]tO-no (3) tOpo-ka-NtOmo (4) ne-m-o ka to
KO-ro-Nka (5) o-yun-i mi-ye-t-uru
Translation
(3) Although [she] is far away, (2) like the sound of the ax that hits [the trees] (1)
on Mt. Sano, (4/5) [my] dear girl appeared in [my] dream saying: 'Shall [we]
sleep together?'
Commentary
This poem has a philological problem: all manuscripts without exception have
m:
the S3 in line five (Mizushima 1984a: 260), but most commentators rewrite it
as ~£3: (Takagi et al. 1959: 435), (Kubota 1967: 217), (Kojima et al. 1973:
480), (Nakanishi 1981: 268-69), (Mizushima 1986: 256-57), (Ito 1997: 457,
460), (Satake et al. 2002: 350), following the proposal made by Kamo Mabuchi
(~~~mM) in his Man yo ko (7J~15) 'The commentary on the Man yoshu'
that the character S3 is a misspelling of £3:. 38 Tsuchiya is the only scholar who
tries to interpret the text as it is with ~ S3, but he speculates that the word oyu
means 'omen', 'sign', that he segments out of WOJ oyoNture
'tempting/confusing word(?)' (Omodaka et al. 1967: 168), basically on the basis
of its character spelling ~J;. § and then goes on to argue that ~J;. is not
necessarily a bad omen (1977.7: 328). Omodaka preserves the original text and
considers the matter far from being settled, but ends up translating this
problematic word as omokage 'visage, looks' (1977.14: 172-73). The
motivation for the majority's opinion is quite clear: there is no noun *oyu
attested in OJ, and substituting it with omo 'face, surface' makes at least a little
bit of sense. However, besides the obvious contradiction to the text, as it is
38 On Man 'yo ko see the Introduction to the Man 'yoshii, book fifteen, p. 14.
160 MAN'YQSHO
unlikely that all lines of manuscripts would have the same spelling error, there
are other serious problems with Kamo Mabuchi's solution. First, the chance of
confusing the characters S3 and e
is almost nil, as they look very different not
only in the standard kaisho, but also in the cursive sosho script: I.e and 1!)-. In
addition, the assumption of misspelling largely rests on the idea that the
Man 'yoshu's Ur-text was written in the cursive script, but this assumption can
be easily challenged on the basis of the fact that the oldest manuscripts of the
Man 'yOShU: 39 Katsura-bon (:tE)js:), Ranshi-bon (iHJl:)js:), Genryaku kohon (j[;
F!t3(*), Kanazawa-bon (:&iR.)js:), Amagasaki-bon (Ft:.~)js:), and Ruiju koshu
(~~r!J~) all use the semi-cursive gyosho script (11'.), and that the recently
excavated mokkan (7j\:AA) fragments of the Man 'yoshu fr9.m the Nara p~riod
have the standard kaisho script (fJ&.). Second, while OMOKANKE-ni MI-YE-
is attested once in the Man 'yoshu (8.1630), *omo-ni mi-ye- is not. This is very
significant, as om6kaNke 'visage, looks, appearance' is not the same as om6
'face, surface'. Note that all the commentators who opt for the om6 option
interpret it as om6kaNke, and this certainly cannot be right. While I have no
definite answer to this enigma, I have at least a tentative solution that might
work. It is based on the observation that most attestations of -ni mi-ye- in the
Man 'yoshu occur with the preceding word ime 'dream', and the actual form -ni
mi-ye-t-uru appearing in this poem, always occurs with the preceding ime
'dream' (2.150, 4.581, 12.3117, 15.3639) except in this poem. Since the
Man 'yoshu poetry is very formulaic, the combination analysis should lead us to
the conclusion that the mysterious word oyu means 'dream'. Needless to say,
such a word is not attested in either EOJ or WOJ. However, OJ ime 'dream' is
believed to be derived from OJ i 'sleep' and me 'eye'. We should not also forget
that the MJ (and MdJ) word for dream is yume, which is a later form that is a
result of i-breaking. Since we deal with EOJ here, there is a distinct possibility
that i-breaking could occur in some of its dialects like it did in MJ. It must be
further noted that 'sleep' and 'dream' are not differentiated in some languages,
as, for example, in Russian where son means both. This helps us to identify yu
of oyu as 'sleep' and possibly 'dream', but it leaves 0- of oyu as an unidentified
segment, which is not good. One tentative solution for this problem is to assume
that this 0- is actually wgfNJ-, a diminutive prefix as can be surmised from
Koyo ryaku ruiju shO (r!J~PIfr~~:fY) 'An abridged selection of old leaves [of
words] organized by categories' transcription, but since this manuscript is from
the mid-Kamakura period and contains no actual man 'yogana, this solution is
doubtful: the initial 0- and wo- merged as wo- only in the Heian period. An
alternative solution would be to see oyu as an Ainu-EOJ hybrid consisting of
Ainu 0-, a locative prefix and a tentative EOJ *yu 'sleep, dream'. However,
Ainu locative prefix 0- can be attached only to verbal stems, but not to nominal
stems. 40 Thus, the tentative EOJ *yu 'sleep, dream' is better to be abandoned, I
prefer to interpret ~ El3 8' in line five as o-yun-i PREF-sleep-NML 'in the
sleep/dream'. Note also that EOJ yun- 'to sleep' is also attested in 14.3476a
below.
The first three lines constitute a poetic introduction (fo, (=f) to the rest of the
poem.
On the Sano area see the commentary to 14.3406. This placename actually
may indicate that this poem is from Kamitukeno province in spite of the fact
39 Currently I have no access to a facsimile of the Tenji-bon (J::lil;;fq, the fifth oldest manuscript
of the Man 'yoshii.
40 Many thanks to my student Thomas Dougherty who pointed out this fact to me.
BOOK FOURTEEN 161
14.3474 (E)
*:>c
(1)
. Ori~al text
(2)
f~j;;:~flli ~1ftc fff1flj.t!k: (3) fftf§ t=j fft~~ (4) fft R,Ii!!,-$f! t=j PI
(5) fft~;ft~*tPI-$
Translation
(1/2) Even the roots of the bamboo that [I] planted are crying (3) when [I] go
away from home - (4) facing what direction, (5) would [my] beloved lament?
Commentary
OJ restrictive particle sape indicates maximum representation: 'even as much
as ... ' or 'even in addition to ... '. In the given context of this poem it implies that
not only the stalks and leaves of bamboo are crying, but even its roots are. For
the details on OJ particle sape see Vovin (2009: 1285-89).
The third line is hypermetric (jiamari, *~ ~), but this is probably just a
graphic illusion, since iNtete inaNpa was in all probability pronounced as
[iNtetenaNpa].
EOJ iNtusi 'where to' is a hapax legomenon, which corresponds to WOJ
iNtuti 'id.'. WOJ iNtuti 'where to' is also attested twice in book fourteen, but
both times in the poems without any distinctive EOJ features (14.3357,
14.3577). On the EOJ palatalization s > t /_i see commentaries to 14.3395 and
14.3445. On the odd nature of palatalization in this particular word see Vovin
(2005: 322-23).
162 MAN'yOSHO
Romanization
(1) kopi"-tutu mo (2) wor-am-u to s-ure-NtO (3) Yupuma yama (4) kakure-si
kimi-wo (5) omop-i-kane-t-umo
Translation
(1/2) Although [I] was going to continue to long for [you], (5) [I] cannot bear
thoughts (4) about my lord, who hid [himself on] (3) Mt. Yupuma!
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
The location of Mt. Yupuma is unknown (Nakanishi 1985: 495). Mt.
Yupuma also appears in 12.3191 spelled as **ff\ FI'l' ~, but it is not clear whether
it is the same mountain or not (Mizushima 1986: 259). The Japanese etymology
for this placename seems to be problematic at least even if we assume that Mt.
Yupuma in both 12.3191 and 14.3475 is the same place: yupu (**ff\) 'paper
strips made from the bark of a mulberry tree' + rna 'interval', Quite possibly, an
Ainu etymology might be more appealing: *yup(u) 'strong,4J + rnaw 'wind', i.e.,
'[the mountain of] strong winds' .
On the OJ exclamative form -urna - -rna see the commentary to 15.3595.
14.3476 (E)
*Y: . Original text
(1) ff:g:M*~ (2) fDfr~/J\i!ij::tn'~=t (3) ?p-7JWtA-flli (4) ~J't~lH!HE*~
(5) i!ij::tn' }~, PI me ~ iB:
41 Cf. Ainu yupu 'to tie tight, to apply strength' and yupke 'strong' (Kayano 1996: 434).
BOOK FOURTEEN 163
Translation
(1) Indeed, [my] dear girl (2) will probably long for me. (3) As a month after
month/As [her] menstrual periods (4) continue to pass/flow away, (5) [she] will
be probably longing [for me).
Commentary
This poem has the most non-standard and non-WOJ outlook in book fourteen
(except the poems that are problematic for understanding), as it contains many
EOJ distinctive features.
On EOJ diminutive suffix -na see the commentary to 14.3384.
EOJ wanu is first person pronoun '1', possibly the oblique stem of wa 'I'
(Vovin 2005: 226-27).
On EOJ tentative suffix -unam- see the commentary to 14.3366.
On the EOJ verbal attributive -0 see the commentary to 14.3395 and a brief
description of EOJ special grammar in the introduction. It is misspelled in
kopusi-k-ar-unam-o as -0, which should come as no surprise after m, since the
contrast of 0 vs. 0 after m was lost in all books of the Man 'yoshu except book
five, where the contrast is still preserved, at least statistically (Bentley 2002).
On EOJ tuku 'moon, month' see the commentary to 14.3395.
EOJ tat-o tuku 'rising moon' is believed to indicate the beginning of a new
month (Mizushima 1986: 260), but it also may be a play on words indicating the
menstrual periods of a woman. See the commentary to 14.3395. The word
ni!Nkane- 'to flow' may represent further evidence in support of this point of
vIew.
EOJ noNkan-ape- 'to flow constantly' is considered to be a cognate of WOJ
naNkar-ape- 'to flow constantly, to pass [of time]'. Both verbs are derivations
of EOJ noNkane- and WOJ naNkare- 'to flow' including iterative suffix -ape-,
which tends to be used after vowel verbs roots instead of -ap- (Vovin 2009a:
820). Given the vocalism of EOJ form noNkane-, it seems to be more archaic
than WOJ naNkare-, the latter resulting from regressive vowel assimilation. A
correspondence of EOJ -n- to WOJ -r- is rare, but it is confirmed by two other
examples EOJ -na - WOJ -ra, diminutive suffix, EOJ -unam- - WOJ -uram-,
tentative suffix, both found in this poem.
EOJ kopusi 'be longing for, be missing (someone)' corresponds to WOJ
kopfsi 'id.' Both reflect PJ *kopoy-si, for details see the commentary to 14.3382
and Vovin (2011b).
Commentary
This postscript introduces a variant of 14.3476 that has different lines four and
five and is presented below as 14.3476a.
Romanization
(1) uNpe KO-na pa (2) wanu-ni kop-unam-o (3) tat-o tuku-no (4) noNkan-ape-
yuk-e-Nto (5) wanu-Nka yun-op-e-Npa
Translation
(1) Indeed, [my] dear girl (2) will probably long for me. (3/4) Although a month
after month/Although [her] menstrual periods continue to pass/flow away, (5)
when [I] continue to sleep [with her] ...
Commentary
There is a philological problem concerning line five. All manuscripts have ~ S3
instead of S3 ~ (Mizushima 1984a: 265), which was introduced by Motoori
Norinaga who suggested that characters S3 and ~ were reversed (Mizushima
1986: 261). This point of view has been accepted by most modem
commentators hTakagi et al. 1959: 436), (Kojima et al. 1973: 481), (Omodaka
1977.14: 175), (Nakanishi 1981: 269), (Mizushima 1986: 260-61), (Ito 1997:
463, 465). Others preserve the original text, but do not offer any analysis of it
(Kubota 1967: 219), (Satake et al. 2002: 351). Tsuchiya preserves the original
text, but offers quite a fantastic analysis of yunope as 'does not avoid' (,~,;t it.
v\) (1977.7: 331). This problem is similar to the problem discussed in the
commentary to 14.3473 above, although in contrast to 14.3473 that involves
alleged character misspelling, the problem in 14.3476a is connected to a
possible character order reversion. The major problem is, however, the same: it
is highly unlikely that all manuscript lines would contain exactly the same error.
In addition, there are other problems. First, as was mentioned in the
commentary to 14.3476 above, wanu 'I' is likely to be an oblique form. Thus,
one would expect it to be followed by a case marker, and not to be used in
isolation. ~D frJ.. ~ wanu-Nka with wanu- being followed by possessive case
marker -Nka perfectly satisfies this requirement. This leaves us, however, with
S3 JJPI&~ yunopeNpa being apparently unexplained. However, 1 believe there is
a possibility to explain it. There is a EOJ verb yun- 'to sleep' that is also attested
in 14.3473 above. There also might be a connection with the honorific verb 0-
yor- 'to sleep' that is attested for the first time in the Kokon chomonjii (r!:l~~
1lI'l#:, 1254 AD) that consists of the honorific prefix 0- « MJ ofo- < OJ opo-) +
yor- 'to sleep' that should be derived by conversion from MJ yoru < WOJ yoru
'night[time]'. WOJ yoru is clearly bimorphemic consisting ofWOJ yo 'night' +
-ru, an obsolete suffix that appears also in WOJ piru 'day[time]'. EOJ yu 'night'
corresponding to WOJ yo 'id.' is attested in 20.4369. Given the correspondence
of EOJ -n- to WOJ -r- that was discussed above in the commentary to 14.3476,
we can surmise that EOJ yun- 'to sleep' in yunopeNpa might correspond to late
MJ yor- in o-yor- 'to sleep'. Consequently, yunopeNpa can be analyzed as yun-
op-e-Npa 'when [I] continue to sleep [with her]'. Therefore, if my analysis of
the fifth line is correct, this line should imply unspoken 'her menstrual periods
will stop', meaning that she will become pregnant, of course. This interpretation
provides yet another support for the second meaning of tat-o tuku 'rising moon',
which as noticed above in the commentaries to 14.3395 and 14.3476 may refer
not only to the new moon, but also (and most certainly) to the onset of a
menstrual period.
On the rest, see the commentary to 14.3476.
14.3477 (W)
*X . Orig~na1 text
(1) *t'\)J.ffiiJJ (2) -=F51JJ~~~f£PJ (3) r!:l~'7fj3"~~ (4) *tL~r!:l;J.F.$~
(5) ~~~*J::tfrJ[~B3:
fli~ O).~ r L. • Kana transliteration
(1) tb---5j: i:)0) 2 (2) --C ::.' 10) 2 J:: 1 V 1 ~ ZP (3) ::. l;t 2 --Cv 'ttl"f (4) tbnlt
::. 1 t!' 2 tftt (5) 0) 2 "i?lt(J1)t!' 1 'tb.c 2 t 2
Romanization
(1) ANtuma-N-ti-no (2) TENKO-no yoNp-i saka (3) koye-te in-aNpa (4) are pa
kopi'-m-u na (5) noti pa api-n-u Wmo
Translation
(3) When [you] go away crossing (2) 'Maiden calling slope' (1) on the road to
ANtuma (4) 1 will long for you, (5) even if later [we] sleep together!
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
The first two lines are identical with the first two lines in 14.3442, and the
last two lines with the last two lines in 12.3190.
On ANtuma see the commentary to 14.3442.
On EOJ teNk6 'maiden' see the commentary to 14.3384. Here it is a part of a
placename, and this is not sufficient to classify this poem as being in E01.
166 MAN'yOSHU
14.3478 (E)
*X
(1)
. Ori~al text
(2)
~{;FJIJf~m i!ij(~n}[~UHfJ\~ (3) r5iiJ1§,~,*~ (4) ~iBtn~,~,*~
(5) ~~B~1}1tctL
Romanization
(1) tCipo-si to [i]p-u (2) Kona-no Sira ne-ni (3) ap-o siNta mo (4) ap-an-ope
siNta mo (5) na-ni koso yosar-e
Translation
(3) When [we] meet (4) and when [we] do not meet (2) at White peak in Kona,
(1) which [they] say is far, (5) [I] am attracted to you.
Commentary
The exact location of White peak (Sira ne) of Kona is unknown. There are
hypotheses equating it with Mt. Sirane (S tB:) in Azuma county (g~m) of
present-day Gunma prefecture, with Mt. Sirayama (S UJ) in present-day
BOOK FOURTEEN 167
14.3479 (W)
*X . Original text
(1) ~PT ~~$f (2) RtctfJ\PTflj~~ (3) ~~~~f# (4) ~ l~Ji*;(j)fjT=8Z
(5) ~~1J\PT~Z=8
Translation
(4) [My] beloved who resisted [the rumors about us], (3) and in addition met
[me] (1) on Mt. Akami, (2) cutting and removing grass and roots, (5) is
extremely dear [to me]!
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
The exact location of Mt. Akami is unknown. Possibly it is Higashiyama
~) in Akami town (~~IBT) of Sano city (ftc!l!fm) in present-day Tochigi
C*
prefecture. There are other hypotheses as well (Nakanishi 1985: 413),
(Mizushima 1986: 265).
Japanese scholars consider ne in kusa ne to be a suffix, and not the word
'root' and analyze kusa-ne simply as 'grass' (Omodaka et al. 1967: 256),
(Omodaka 1977.14: 178), (Mizushima 1986: 266). However, this does not make
much sense: in order to sleep comfortably on the ground, one must remove not
only grass, but also any protruding roots. Therefore, I translate kusa ne as grass
and roots'. On the alleged suffix -ne see the commentary to 15.3590.
'Cutting and removing grass and roots' certainly refers to the preparation of
the place to sleep together. See also 14.3489 below.
Mizushima maintains that arasop- 'to resist' refers to maiden's initial
resistance to her lover's advances (1986: 267), but this does not agree well with
-Nka [u}pe 'in addition, besides'. Therefore, I follow Omodaka's solution that
168 MAN'Y0SHO
resistance here means denial of the rumors about lovers (1977.14: 178) that fits
better with the syntax of this poem.
Romanization
(1) opo kimi-n6 (2) mi-k6tO kasiko-mi (3) kanasi imo-Nka (4) ta-makura panare
(5) yo-N-tat-i k-i-n-o kam6
Translation
(1/2) Because the imperial command is awesome, (3/4) [I] went away from the
arms of my dear beloved [that 1 used as] a pillow, and (5) departing at night,
came [here]!
Commentary
On opo kfmf 'great lord' see the commentary to 15.3644.
On mf-koto 'honorable word', 'imperial order/edict' see the commentary to
15.3644.
The third line is hypermetric Uiamari, *~ ~), but this is probably just a
graphic illusion, since kanasi imo was in all probability pronounced as
[kanasimo].
On the EOJ verbal attributive -0 see the commentary to 14.3395 and a brief
description of EOJ special grammar in the introduction.
On EOJ perfective attributive -n-o see the commentary to 14.3395.
Judging by the content of this poem it is probably a poem composed by a
border guard (OJ sakfmori). Mizushima notes that 'departing at night' must be a
poetic hyperbola, since departures were normally done in the morning (1986:
269).
14.3481 (E)
*X
(1)
. Original text
~fIH~YJ:JJ(2) ~~~~ZR~ (3) {jl-mU~{jl--a1]\ (4) :tJJ{jl-11SZ5t{~1]\
3. (5) M':ttt/E!mcZ-a
{Bt~ Oy.~ T L- • Kana transliteration
(1) ;!;) ~ 2: I ~O) 2 (2) ~ 2. ~ 2. L-.r:5J;- 1 (3) v\-".. 1 0) 2 v\ t 2 f~ (4) t 10)2
v\I:tT2: 1 f~--C (5) jOt 101 ('6 L t 2
BOOK FOURTEEN 169
Romanization
(1) arikinu-no (2) sawe-sawe siNtum-i (3) ipe-no imo-ni (4) mono ip-aNs-u k-i-
n-i-te (5) omop-i-N-kurusi-mo
Translation
(2) [When] the hustle and bustle [of my departure] calmed down (1) like
(makura-kotoba), (5) it is painful to think that (4) [I] came [here] without saying
a word (3) to my beloved wife!
Commentary
On makura-kotoba arikfnu-no see the commentary to 15.3741.
EOJ sawe-sawe 'hustle and bustle of one's departure' is a hapax legomenon
that corresponds to WOJ sawi-sawi, another hapax legomenon with the same
meaning. Quite likely the syllable we in sawe-sawe preserves unraised PJ
primary vowel *e, which underwent raising *e > i in WOJ. There are no other
distinctive EO} features in this poem, so 1classify it as Eastern o~y tentatively.
This poem is probably an allusive variation (honkadori, *~l& ~) of the
poem 4.503 that is a poem by KakinomotO-no aSOml Pitomaro.
Translation
[This poem] appears in Kakinomoto-no asoml PitOmaro's poetic collection. See
above, as it has been already recorded.
Commentary
On KaldnomotO-no Asomi PitOmaro's poetic collection see the commentary to
the postscript to 14.3417.
There is a discrepancy regarding the last but one character in different
manuscripts. The Genryaku k6hon has 1J"c, the Ruiju koshU and the Nishi
Honganji-bon have ~~, and the Hosoi-bon has ~t (Mizushima 1984a: 274-75).
Given the fact that in the Nishi Honganji-bon a smaller character 1Jc is written
on the right side oH~, 1 am inclined to follow the Genryaku kOhon variant 1Jc.
Omodaka believes that this postscript demonstrates that a compiler of book
fourteen thought that this poem is the same as the poem 4.503 from PitOmaro's
poetic collection (1977.14: 181). Mizushima, however, points out that the
compiler of book fourteen treated only the poem 4.503 as a poem from
Pitomaro's poetic collection (1986: 270). Omodaka's point of view seems to me
to be a better explanation.
170 MAN'Y0SHD
14.3482 (W)
*=t
(1)
. OrigLnal text
RJ&~q:~=§(2) ~JBiJJf~RJfg: (3) *tBzt1]iff=§ (4) *,~,-g~:f[=:~q:g~
(5) *~=§tBz*!A.1]\
i&~ O).~ r
L- • Kana transliteration
(1) tJ~G ~ 2;:' 2 t I (2) i:-t 10) f 5 ~tJ>r-.. 2 (3) ;:brj:tJ.~" t (4) It L
<r;:.
2 1 1
~ 1 ~ 2 ~ 2;:' 2:a:- (5) &:>;;6> t 1 rj: ;t
Romanization
(1) Kara koromo (2) suso-no uti-kape (3) ap-an-e-Ntomo (4) kesi-ki kokoro-wo
(5) a-Nka [o]mop-an-aku n-i
Translation
(3) Although [we] do not meet (1/2) like the hems [ot] a Korean garment, that
cross over [each other without meeting] (5) I do not think (4) that [I] will
change [my] mind.
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem. Mizushima maintains that
uti-kape- is an EOJ verb, corresponding to WOJ uti-kap- (1986: 272), but cf. the
presence of uti-kap- in the following 14.3482a, which is clearly an EOJ poem.
Uti-kape- is clearly a hapax legomenon in OJ, but there is no evidence that the
form is really EOJ, and not WOJ.
On Kara 'Korea' see the commentary to 15.3627.
The second line is usually explained as 'like the multiple hems [that do not
meet)' (Takagi et al. 1959: 437), (Nakanishi 1981: 270), (Omodaka 1977.14:
181), (Mizushima 1986: 272). Since Korean garments consisted of several robes
of decreasing length from the inner one to an outer one, the previous hem was
always longer than the following one, and consequently their edges did not meet.
The imagery, therefore, is quite clear. The first two lines constitute metaphoric
poetic introduction (hiyu no jo, j:1:)1lf«0) ff:) to the apaneNtomo 'although [we]
do not meet' (Omodaka 1977.14: 181), (Mizushima 1986: 272).
The last two lines are identical with the last two lines in 15.3775.
Commentary
We do not know what the book mentioned above is. The variant is presented
below as 14.3482a.
BOOK FOURTEEN 171
14.3482a (E)
*Jt . Orig!nal text
(1) PJ.&c..~ffl: (2) ~*~'¥~PJlt (3) ~iiJiB(~~~ (4) tfJ\~~JJPJ'&1)\
(5) ~!f~~ PJfljfj)ffl:
Romanization
(1) Kara koromo (2) suso-no uti-kap-i (3) ap-an-ap-e-Npa (4) ne-n-ape-no
karani (5) kotO [i]ta-k-ar-i-t-umo
Translation
(4) Just because we continue not to sleep [together] (3) when [we] do not meet
(1/2) like the hems [of] a Korean garment, that cross over [each other without
meeting], (5) rumors have been painful!
Commentary
On Kara 'Korea' see the commentary to 15.3627.
On uti-kap- 'to cross over' and hems of Korean garments see the
commentary to 14.3482.
On specific EOJ order of morphemes -(a)n-ap- 'NEG-ITER' see the
commentary to 14.3375.
EOJ evidential -e and nominalized iterative form -ape, corresponding to
WOJ -e and -ape, probably indicate that the contrast between e and e did not
exist in the EOJ dialect underlying this poem.
On the conjunction karani 'just because', 'as soon as' see Vovin (2009a:
1151-53).
On OJ exclamative form -urna - -rna see the commentary to 15.3595.
14.3483 (E)
*Jt . Original text
(1) l:tmE~*iB( (~ ~*~~l:t:=f;JJ (3) flJ~gg~1)\ (4) ~iiJl:tlJ.mE~PJ:=f;
(5) ~mE~*lli~J:~
Translation
(2) [The garment] cords that do not get untied (1) when [I try to] untie [them] in
the day time, (4) 1 wonder whether (5) [they] are easier to get untied at night (4)
[because I] think that [I] will meet (3) with my dear beloved?
Commentary
On the custom of tying and untying cords of a garment among lovers see the
commentary to 15.3585.
EOJ e corresponding to WOJ e probably indicates that the contrast between e
and edid not exist in the EOJ dialect underlying this poem.
On specific EOJ order of morphemes -(a)n-ap- 'NEG-ITER' see the
commentary to 14.3375.
On adnominal function of the infinitive form in EOJ see the commentary to
14.3415.
On EOJ attributive -ke inyasu-ke see the commentary to 14.3412.
Romanization
(1) asa-wo-ra-wo (2) wo-ke-ni pususa n-i (3) um-as-u tomo (4) asu ki se-sas-
am-e ya (5) iNsa se woN-t6ko-ni
Translation
(3) Even if [you] spin (1/2) many hemp threads into a hemp container, (4)
would [you] wear [them] tomorrow [as a garment]? [- Certainly, you would
not!] (5) Hey, let us go to bed!
Commentary
The spelling of EOJ wo-ke 'hemp container' corresponding to WOJ wo-ke 'id.'
indicates that the EOJ dialect underlying this poem had no distinction between e
and e.
EOJ pususa 'many' has no cognate in WOJ.
BOOK FOURTEEN 173
14.3485 (E)
*:>c . Original text
(1) WmE1t~~ (2) ~1J\*~{jt-a--¥ (3) ~!I!JVfJt*fJ\ (4) ~--¥~*{~WmE
(5) -¥~1J\~.&*t\.1J\
-f.&~ Oy.~ r .
~ Kana transliteration
(1) "':)Q~ J::.'t (2) Jj.2\:::-.-f: ,blt\'b 2:a:- (3) ~ 'l)Jj. Jil~tJ. (4) tJ.:a:--f:
<
2 2
f,t. ~ ,"':) Q (5)-c :::.'
1 f:::-. <b G f,t. f:::-.
Romanization
(1) turukl tati (2) MI-ni s6p-u imo-wo (3) tOr-i-MI-[N]kane (4) NE-wo so nak-i-
t-urn (5) TENKO n-i ar-an-aku n-i
Translation
(3) Failing to take care (2) of my beloved who is [as] close to me (1) [as my]
double-edge sword [and my] long sword, (4) [I] sobbed loudly, (5) although [I]
am not a girl.
Commentary
On OJ turukf 'double edge sword' and tati 'long sword' see the commentary to
5.804. It is possible that the first line turukf tati just means '[my] long sword
[that is] a double edge sword', but there is no grammatical evidence for such an
analysis, and the textual evidence from 5.804 goes against it.
On EOJ teNkO ~ teNko-na 'maiden' see the commentary to 14.3384. Except
for this word, the poem looks like WOJ. However, in addition to this EOJ word,
there is also a specific Eastern cultural attitude towards swords (see below), not
really attested in WOJ texts.
On the prenasalization of the negative potential auxiliary -kane- > -Nkane- in
EOJ see also 14.3538.
The fifth line is hypermetric (jiamari, *5F 'I)), but this is probably just a
graphic illusion, since n-i ar-an-aku n-i was in all probability pronounced as
[naranakuni].
174 MAN'YC>SHO
Romanization
(1) kanasi imo-wo (2) yuN-tuka naNpe-mak-i (3) mokoro wo-no (4) koto to si
ip-aNpa (5) iya kat-amasi-ni
Translation (a)
(2) [I] embrace (1) [my] dear beloved (2) (like) wrapping the handle of [my]
bow, (4) if it were a matter (3) of a similar man, (5) [I] would certainly win,
but. ..
Translation (b)
(4) If it were a matter (3) of a similar man, (5) [I] would certainly win (2) [as
easily as] wrapping the handle of [my] bow with parallel [strips of leather], (5)
but (I) [I would lose] to [my] dear beloved.
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this,Eoem.
The first line is hypermetric (jiamari, +~ VJ), but this is probably just a
graphic illusion, since kanasi imo was in all probability pronounced as
[kanasimo).
OJ yuN-tuka 'bow-handle' is a contraction of *yurni tuka 'bow handle' not
otherwise attested in OJ. Handles of bows were wrapped by leather or sakura
bark stripes for better grip. On sakura bark see the commentary to 14.3399.
This is a difficult poem for understanding and translation. Almost every
commentator has his own interpretation. The differences are predominantly
caused by the different interpretations of katamasi in the fifth line as kat-amasi
'win-SUBJ', kat-am-asi 'win-TENT-ADJ' or kata mas-i 'hard increase-INF', as
well as by the analysis of wo in the first line as either an emphatic particle, or an
accusative case marker. Mizushima understands it as: "Oh, my beloved wife! If
my rival were a man of the same age as me, I would certainly win, wrapping
BOOK FOURTEEN 175
*
43
by wr~pping my beloved wife to the handle of my bow (sic, "\ C ~,,\~ ~ '7
I':' ~;t -c:t ~)" (1973: 482). TSllchiya's interpretation: "Two men are
asking to marry that lovely girl, like wrapping parallelly bows' handles; if it is
the matter of that rival in love, I think I want to win" (1977.7: 339). Kubota's
translation: "If it were a matter of a love affair with [a man] of the same age, [I]
would win that lovely girl [easily?], like wrapping parallelly the handle of my
bow" (1967: 225). Nakanishi's interpretation: "Although she is a lovely girl,
when one speaks of that man who wraps the handle as his bow as good as me
and vies for her in marriage as well, my feelings for her increase, but. .. " (1983:
271). Ito's translation: "Oh, dear girl, although I embraced you tightly like
wrapping the handle of my bow, if one were to say that my strength is the same
as of that guy, in reality it is much more" (1997: 478). Satake et al. treat the last
line as obscure, and the rest as "Oh dear beloved! I wrapped the handle of my
bow, and if they say that these are the words ofa rival man" (2002: 354). I trust
that the interpretation proposed by Takeda (1966: 366), and represented here by
translation (a) with very little changes, is the most uncontroversial one that
closely follows the grammar of the poem. It also does not leave the second line
as a weird metaphor hanging out there just being loosely connected to the rest
of the poem. Another possibility is the translation (b), but it requires
introducing many more components into the text that are not there.
14.3487 (E)
*:>c
(1)
. Original text
*Rft:S3~ (2) ~JL~1)\~J#*5 (3) I=iJR~7~~ (4) ffi~~}j~m1)\,~,
(5) ~R 5J2-1=iJ~~1Jo~~
Romanization
(1) aNtusa yumi' (2) suwe-ni tama mak-i' (3) ka-ku su su so (4) NE-N-A-na nar-
i-n-i-si (5) oku-wo kan-u kan-u
Translation
(2) Wrapping jewels at the end [of] (1) a catalpa bow, (3/5) [I] so worry and
ponder again and again about the future, (4) [because] it became so that [we] do
not sleep [together].
43Probably used in a figurative sense, meaning that the author either adds the life-force of his
wife to his bow, or thinks about her as he dispatches his arrow.
176 MAN'yOSHO
Commentary
OJ aNtusa 'catalpa tree' (1:$) is a tall deciduous tree (up to 20 m or 63 ft). In
Ancient Japan the provinces of Shinano and Kai were famous as the areas
where catalpa grew. The wood of catalpa is heavy and hard, and consequently it
is used for making agricultural tools, furniture, and the inside decorum of
buildings. In Ancient Japan it was also used for making bows (aNtusa yumi
'catalpa bow'). There are various hypotheses, what is exactly the tree that
corresponds to OJ aNtusa, but most likely that it is MdJ mizume, alternatively
called yoguso minebari (1~jt~~), which grows in the wild in the mountains
and has grey bark, and a very distinctive stinking smell. It has broad egg-shaped
leaves. In the spring, it blooms with greenish yellow ear-shaped flowers. The
fruits are shaped like pine cones, and are somewhat sticky.
Tying jewels (in this case, probably jade) to the end of a catalpa bow
symbolizes commitment to one's beloved (Mizushima 1986: 279).
On EOJ su 'again' < Ainu suy 'id.' see the commentary to 14.3363. Needless
to say, this interpretation disagrees completely with the tradition, as all the
commentators treat this su su in this poem as OJ s-u s-u 'do-FIN do-FIN'. See
also 14.3564. Ainu also uses the reduplicated form suy suy 'again and again,
once again' (Kayano 1996: 280).
On EOJ form in V-(a)n-a-na 'V-NEG-ATTR-LOC' see the commentary to
14.3408.
EOJ -na is a special EOJ locative case marker. See also 14.3408, 14.3447,
and 14.3461.
Kan-u is a final form of OJ vowel verb kane- 'to think about the future, to
worry about the future'.
Although other modern commentators are non-committal, Mizushima
believes that this is a poem by a man who has lost the relationship with his
beloved (1986: 279). This is a possible interpretation if one understands line
four in the sense that sleeping together stopped for good. But then worrying and
thinking about the future would have probably been completely useless. What if
the hapless man simply goes on a long journey, or is conscripted to military
service as a border guard? Then only the temporal stopping of the sexual
activity takes place, and if it is so, then the wrapping jewels at the end of his
bow as a sign of devotion to his beloved as well as thinking about the future
would make much more sense than in the case if the man was really dumped by
his beloved. Ito goes as far as to suggest that the woman in question went over
to another man (1997: 478-79). This is, of course, a pure speculation that has no
textual evidence to rely upon.
14.3488 (E)
*Jt
(1)
. Original text
1t';tij;z~~(2) ~q:Jj£3:~11[~Jj (3) ~;zi&:/J\qs (4) 1lli.&fr~{j!"qsft1S
(5) PJ ~ /J\ {j!" ~ if. PJ £3:
f.OC45 Oy.~ r ~ . Kana transliteration
(1) :t3b L. t 1 <!::: 2 (2) =. 2 (j) 2 t 2 <!::: 2~~(j) 2 (3) ~ U'il-: t 1 (4) (j) 2 G
lb.\; \ t j tJ~t.t. (5) 7J~t:.I-:\; \C'tJtp t 2
BOOK FOURTEEN 177
Romanization
(1) op-u simoto (2) kono mot{) yama-no (3) ma-siNpa-niln-i mo (4) nor-an-u
imo-Nka NA (5) kata-ni iNte-m-u kamo
Translation
(4/5) [I] wonder whether the name of [my] beloved that [I] did not pronounce
(1/3) really frequently even in the brushwood with growing small branches (2)
of this low mountain, (5) will appear at the [divination deer] shoulder [blade]?
Commentary
EOJ op- 'to grow' in line one is clearly a consonantal verb, as can be seen from
op-u simotii 'growing small branches' in line one. See also EOJ consonantal
verb op- 'to grow' in 14.3501 below. The corresponding verb in WOJ is a
vowel verb opi'-, and we would expect in WOJ op-uru simotii 'growing small
branches'.
OJ simoto ~ simoto (1'£) are small branches of low trees that grow densely
together. The etymology of this word is obscure. One of the main usage of
simoto was that it was used as a whip. From this usage the secondary meaning
'whip' has developed. See for example, 5.892.
Mota yama can either be a placename, or a reference to a low mountain, or to
a foot of the mountain (Omodaka 1977.14: 189), (Mizushima 1986: 280). 1
adopt here the point of view that it refers to a low mountain.
SiNpa in line three represents a play on words, as it can both mean
'brushwood' and 'frequently'. 1 have tried to incorporate both into my
translation.
The fifth line is hypermetric (jiamari, *~ I) ) ), but this is probably just a
graphic illusion, since kata-ni iNtemu was in all probability pronounced as
[kataniNtemu].
On divination practices in Asuka and Nara periods see the commentary to
the Chinese essay found after 5.896 (Vovin 2011a: 147). Cf. also 14.3374,
where the similar divination ritual is described.
Romanization
(1) aNtusa yumi (2) Yora-no yama-N-PE-no (3) siNke-k-aku n-i (4) imo-ro-wo
tate-te (5) sa-ne-N-to parap-umo
178 MAN'yOSHO
Translation
(1) Catalpa bow (makura-kotoba) (2/3) As the side of Mt. Yora is overgrown
[with bush], (4) [I] let my beloved stand, as (5) [I] am clearing a place [for us]
to sleep!
Commentary
On OJ aNtusa 'catalpa' and aNtusa yumf 'catalpa bow' see the commentary to
14.3487. Here aNtusa yumf 'catalpa bow' is used as a permanent epithet
(makura-kotoba, tt~P]), although it is not clear to what word in the following
text of the poem it is connected. It is believed that it may be attached to Yora or
syllable Iyol in Yora due to the 'common usage' (rather, diachronic alternation
- A.V.) of kO-rui yo in the placename Yora and yu in yumf 'bow' (Takagi et al.
1959: 439). It is, unlikely, however, that speakers of EOJ were aware of any of
these diachronic alternations. Another opinion that it is attached to yo in Yora,
because when one pulls the bow, its ends approach (yor-) oneself (Mizushima
1986: 281) ultimately goes back to Keichu's Daish6ki (Omodaka 1977.14: 189),
is nonsensical, because the only thing it demonstrates is the ignorance of the
vowel distinction in kO-rui Iyol and otsu-rui Iyol. Thus, the connection of the
aNtusayumf 'catalpa bow' to the rest of the poem remains unclear.
The exact location of Mt. Yora is unknown. Possibly it is located in Yora
town (l:j..5!: lIlT) of Komoro city (/J\ ~ m) in present-day Nagano province
(Nakanishi 1985: 497), (Mizushima 1986: 281).
EOJ siNke- 'be overgrown' corresponds to WOJ siNke- 'id.' The EOJ
'misspelling' probably indicates that the contrast between lei and lei did not
exist in the EOJ dialect underlying this poem.
EOJ adjectival nominalized form -k-aku 'ATTR-NML' corresponds to WOJ
-keku 'ATTRJNML'. For details see Vovin (2009a: 473-76).
On OJ to 'place' and its relationship to OJ tokoro 'id.' see Vovin (2010: 117).
On OJ exclamative form -umo - -mo see the commentary to 15.3595.
On clearing a place for lovers to sleep together see also 14.3479.
14.3490 (W)
*j: . Original text
(1) *~1tcB3~ (~ @Oit1iBt~.1!ffJ\-$ (3) JfftcPT~q:~ (4) J:t~ § -'f1t'{*~
(5) ~-'fiBt,~JJ\1t'~tL
Romanization
(1) aNtusa yumi (2) suwe pa yor-i ne-m-u (3) masaka koso (4) pitO ME-wo opo-
mt (5) na-wo pasi-ni ok-er-e
BOOK FOURTEEN 179
Translation
(2) [We] will sleep [together in the future], coming close [to each other, like]
the ends (1) [of] the catalpa bow [are drawn to a body). (3/4) [But] now because
there are many [watching] eyes of the people, (5) [I] am leaving this thing with
you unfinished (lit.: 1 am leaving you at halfway).
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
On OJ aNtusa 'catalpa' and aNtusa yumf 'catalpa bow' see the commentary
to 14.3487. Here aNtusa yumf 'catalpa bow' is used as a permanent epithet
(makura-kotoba, tt~PJ), connecting to the word suwe 'end' in line two.
On OJ masaka 'now' and its differences with ima 'now' see the commentary
to 14.3403.
On the absolutive case marker -wo see the commentary to 15.3599. For
details, see Vovin (2005: 163-67).
OJ idiom na-wo pasi-ni ok-er- '[I] am leaving you at halfway' means 'I am
leaving this thing with you unfinished, but 1 will keep you waiting for it'. See
also 14.3408.
Translation
This is [a poem] from Kakinomoto-no asomi PitOmaro's poetic collection.
Commentary
On Kakinomoto-no asomi Pitomaro's poetic collection see the commentary to
the postscript to 14.3417.
14.3491 (W)
*Jt . Original text
(1) t;Jj*~~q:~ (2) tz*U~{$~~*L (3) ~lmJ;:t~Jj (4) 15;fF~,~,*!i:t-'¥
(5) {jtRJ~t!t~~~
Romanization
(1) YAnaNki' koso (2) kir-e-Npa paye s-ure (3) yo-no pitO-no (4) kopi'-ni sin-
am-u-wo (5) ika n-i se-yo to so
180 MAN'Y0SHO
Translation
(1/2) When [one] cuts a willow, [it] will surely grow [again]. (4) Although [I]
will die from longing (3) like an [ordinary] person of this world, (5) what do
[you] think [I] should do?
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
On OJ yanaNkr 'willow', see the commentaries to 5.817 and 5.821.
Cf. the almost identical line ika n-i se-yo to ka 'what do [you] think [I]
should do?' in line twenty-four of 5.794.
Romanization
(1) wo-yama-N-TA-no (2) ike-no tutumi-ni (3) sas-u YAnaNkI (4) nar-i mo nar-
aNs-u mo (5) na-to puta-ri pa mo
Translation
(3) [Like] the willows planted (2) at the dam of the pond (1) of the paddy at the
small mountain, (4) be [it] or not, (5) two [of us, me] and you, [will be
together]!
Commentary
There are no distinctive EOJ features in this poem.
On OJ yanaNki' 'willow', see the commentaries to 5.817 and 5.821.
Willows were planted on the dam probably in order to strengthen it
(Mizushima 1986: 285).
The fourth line is usually understood in the sense of a success or a lack
thereof in the relationship (Omodaka 1977.14: 192), but if so, then the
following line five might be puzzling: if a relationship fails, a couple is more
likely to split than to be together. Mizushima interprets the last two lines in the
sense that 'whatever happens, my feelings for you will not change' (1986: 285-
86). This, however, seems to be a wishful addition unsupported by the text itself.
Possibly, line four is a simple reference to sexual compatibility, and line five is
BOOK FOURTEEN 181
Romanization
(1) oso paya mo (2) na-wo koso mat-am-e (3) muka-tu wo-no (4) sipi-no kwo-
yaNte-no (5) ap-i pa taNkap-aNsi
Translation
(1) Whether [you come] early or late, (2) [I] will certainly wait for you. (5)
[Our] meeting would not be different from [the meeting] (4) of small branches
of chinquapin trees (3) at the ridge on the opposite side.
Commentary
All manuscripts exhibit ~ *~ EI takepaNsi with * in line five, with the
exception of the Genryaku k6hon and the Ruijii koshii that have ~ ~ ~ EI
taNkapaNsi with ~ (Mizushima 1984a: 294). Because both the Genryaku
building and making utensils, and its bark for dyeing. OJ sipi 'chinquapin' is
used in poetry as the seasonal word for the summer.
OJ wo means not only 'peak', 'hill', but also 'mountain ridge' as opposed to
a valley (Omodaka et al. 1967: 828), (Mizushima 1986: 287).
EOJ yaNte 'branch' corresponds to WOJ ye - yeNta 'id.' EOJ yaNte 'branch'
is a hapax legomenon.
The metaphor of meeting like branches of a chinquapin tree is probably
based on the fact that chinquapins are luxuriant trees with their branches
growing very closely together and frequently overlapping (Omodaka 1977.14:
193).
Mizushima believes that in this poem a man is waiting for a woman, because
OJ personal pronoun na 'you' 'is used in many cases by a man in reference to a
woman' (1986: 287). There is certainly no gender bias in the usage of OJ na
'you', as there are OJ texts, where na is used by a woman in reference to a man,
see, e.g. KK 3, KK 5, MYS 14.3546, etc. Quite to the contrary, as the variant
14.3493a below demonstrates, it is quite clear that a woman is waiting for a
man in this poem.
(1)
. Original text
14.3493a (W)
*X n~~~~~ (2) 1t~-'¥-,~,Jff~1Et (3) -$-RJ~-'¥-fili (4) ,~,J:;tJ)16::J}*fjlg
(5) 1!r!f~~JiJl1!£3:
Romanization
(1) oso paya mo (2) kimi-wo si mat-am-u (3) muka-tu wo-no (4) sipi-no sa-
yeNta-no (5) toki pa suNk-u tOmo
Translation
(1) Whether [you come] quickly or slowly, (2) [I] will wait for [my] lord, (5)
even if the time [when you promised to come] would pass (4) like [the luxuriant
growth of] the branches of chinquapin trees (5) at the ridge on the opposite side.
Commentary
On OJ OSO 'late' andpaya 'early', see the commentary to 14.3493.
On OJ sipi 'chinquapin', see the commentary to 14.3493.
The chinquapin trees are especially luxuriant during the summer time. This
probably also indicates the time when the man promised to come.
BOOK FOURTEEN 183
Romanization
(1) KOmoti yama (2) waka kaperute-no (3) momit-u-maNte (4) NE-m-o to wa
pa [o]mop-u (5) NA pa aN-to ka [o]mop-u
Translation
(4) I think that [we] should sleep [together] (2/3) until the young maple
becomes red (1) on Mt. Komoti. (5) What do you think?
Commentary
Mt. Komoti « kO-mot-i 'child holding', also supported by semantographic
spelling of ko 'child' as )l) is in all probability identical to present-day Komoti-
yama (+f-fWJ, 1192 m), which straddles Kita-Gunma county (;jtU,~W),
Azuma county (1!fr ~ W), and Numata city (ill B3 m) in Gumma prefecture
(Nakanishi 1985: 447). This mountain is known as a site for sexual rituals in
antiquity, so the context of the poem makes this identification almost perfect.
Mizushima, however, brings up another possibility as well: Komoti-yama (+f-f
WJ, 1110 m) in Matsuida town (;t0J:!:B3lBT) ofUsui county CI!t7J<W) in Gunma
prefecture. He further notes that that there is a Komoti jinja 'Child-holding
shrine' (+f-f:f:$t±) constructed between 938-946 AD at the mid-slope of the
same mountain at the height of 520 m, and that this mountain was close to
Nakasendo tract (9=J WJJ1!) (Mizushima 1986: 289). I fail to see how a proximity
to the Nakasendo tract or a construction of a shrine in the Heian period makes
this choice more justifiable than the previous one, which has obvious
connection to sexual rituals. Thus, I side with Nakanishi's identification cited
above. Omodaka cites several more hypotheses, but remains non-committal
(1977.14: 194). In any case, since both mountains are located in Gunma
prefecture, one can identify this poem as being from Kamitukeno province,
especially given the fact that the presence of the EOJ verbal attributive -0 and
the EOJ interrogative pronoun aN- 'what, why' that are also attested in other
identified Kamitukeno poems further support the likely attribution of this poem
to Kamitukeno province.
OJ waka 'young' is an uninflected adjective. See Vovin (2009a: 429-40) on
uninflected adjectives in OJ.
On WOJ momit- 'to turn red and/or yellow (of autumn leaves)' see the
commentary to 15.3693.
EOJ kaperute 'maple' (there are no WOJ phonographic attestations) has a
transparent etymology: kaperu 'frog' + te 'hand'.
184 MAN'YC>SHO
EO] ne-m-o '[we] should sleep' is the attributive tentative fonn of the verb
ne- 'to sleep'. On the EO] verbal attributive -0 see the commentary to 14.3395
and a brief description of EO] special grammar in the introduction.
On the EOJ interrogative pronoun aN- 'what, why' see the commentary to
14.3379.
Romanization
(1) ipapo-ro-no (2) sop-i-no waka matu (3) kaNkir-i to ya (4) kimi-Nka k-i-
[i]mas-an-u (5) ura motO na-ku rna
Translation
(2) Young pines along (1) the rocks ... (5) [I] am restless (4) as [my] lord did
not come, (2) [and I] am waiting [for him] (3) thinking: '[Is] it the end?'
Commentary
OJ ipapo 'rock' consists of ipa 'rock' and an obsolete suffix -po, the meaning of
which is difficult to detennine, although sometimes it is believed to be a
grammaticalization of po 'ear (of the grain)' (Omodaka et at. 1967: 94). If this
is true, then ipapo is probably something like 'rocky outcrops'.
On EOJ diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
On OJ waka 'young' see the commentary to 14.3494.
The first two lines represent a poetic introduction (fo, F'f), quite 100se,l),'
connected to the rest ofthe poem, There is also a play on words (kakekotoba, N~
~jij) between matu 'pine' and mat-u 'wait-FIN' in the line two.
OJ ura 'inside', 'back' is used here metaphorically for heart as an internal
organ, See also 14.3443 and 14.3500 for the same usage.
Romanization
(1) TatiNpana-no (2) KoNpa-no panari-Nka (3) omop-unam-u (4) kokoro
utukusi (5) iNte are pa ik-ana
Translation
(4) The heart (2) of the maiden from KoNpa (1) in TatiNpana [district] (3)
which seems to love [me] (4) is adorable. (5) Oh, I want to go [to her]!
Commentary
TatiNpana district (~1M m) was located in the area corresponding to the
territory of Minato Kita-ku U,*it lR) of Yokohama city and the northern part of
Kawasaki city in present-day Kanagawa prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 460).
Therefore, one can identify with certainty this poem as being from MuNsasi
province. Since this poem is found inside the poetic sequence with reference to
plants, the place name TatiNpana here may be meaningful or intentional (OJ
tatiNpana 'mandarin orange'). On OJ tatiNpana 'mandarin orange' see the
commentary to 15.3779.
The location of KoNpa [village?] within the TatiNpana district is unknown
(Nakanishi 1985: 460).
OJ panari 'maiden' has also the original meaning 'divided hair' that refers to
the hairstyle worn by girls and unmarried women. A girl's hair ends were cut
when she was around two or three years old, and as the hair grew, it was
divided at the top of head into two strands, right and left, that were left to hang
down to the shoulders, where the hair was trimmed again. This hairstyle was
maintained until a girl turned eight years old. From this time and until fifteen-
sixteen years old (that was presumably the marrying age) the hair was left uncut.
This hairstyle was called panari 'divided hair' (a nominalization panar-i of the
verb panar- 'to divide, to separate'), and consequently the term for the hairstyle
was metonymically transferred to those who had their hair arranged in this
manner. Married women were supposed to raise their hair in a coiffure, but this
was not always strictly followed (Omodaka et al. 1967: 587).
On EOJ tentative suffix -unam- see the commentary to 14.3366. Although
EOJ -unam- is not attested directly in other MuNsasi poems, it is attested in one
poem from SaNkamu province (14.3366) from Kamakura district that is right
on the border with MuNsasi province. Although this is not the same kind of
evidence that we have seen for the poem 14.3494 above, it is somewhat
compelling, because administrative divisions do not necessarily coincide with
dialect boundaries. Therefore, I tentatively accept the possibility that the poem
14.3496 is indeed from MuNsasi province.
OJ utukusi means 'adorable', 'dear', but not 'beautiful' as in modem
Japanese.
The fifth line is hypermetric (jiamari, ':f:~ ~ ).
OJ verb ik- 'to go' is an extremely rare verb as compared to yuk- 'id.', since
ik- occurs in OJ corpus only seven times (all of them in the Man 'yoshii). It is
always found in hypermetric lines, but otherwise there is no obvious difference
in usage between ik- andyuk- (Omodaka et al. 1967: 69).
186 MAN'YC>sHO
14.3497 (W)
*)'(
(1)
. Orig~nal text
PJ7&:1JD~fjg~2) {1]\ § ~~ PJ:fX11[ (3) *lli1)\~iiJ11[1)\ (4) ir: 1Efftr:~ "3 ~q:~
(5) C. ~1)\ "31)\ ,~, PJ
fli~ O).~ r L- • Kana transliteration
(1) iplii6~Ji. 10)2 (2) h c:. 6 , t~i6~tJ~~ (3) <b~I~ <b~I~ (4) ~ h ~ h-C
.:. 2 -t- 2 (5) .:. 2 C 2'~ -C:I~ LtJ~
Romanization
(1) kapa kaml-no (2) ne-N-siro taka-N-kaya (3) aya n-i aya n-i (4) sa-ne sa-ne-te
koso (5) kotO-ni [i]Nte-n-i-sika
Translation
(4) As [we] slept together, slept together (3) extremely [frequently], (2) like a
high kaya grass with white roots [that grows densely/frequently] (1) in the
upstream of the river, (5) [our relationship] has become [people's] gossip.
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
This poem starts a discrete mini-sequence of three poems (14.3497-14.3498,
14.3500) that involve the word ne 'root'.
The first two lines represent a poetic introduction (jo, FJ:) to the rest of the
poem. Presumably kaya grass is growing densely in the upstream of the river, so
this dense growth is used as a metaphor for the frequency of lovers' meetings.
OJ kaya is a cover term for various grasses like susukf 'Japanese pampas
grass', suNke 'sedge', ti - tiNkaya 'cogon grass', etc. that are used to thatch
roofs. As it becomes clear from the poem 14.3499 below, it was also used to
make a bed for lovers sleeping together.
There is clearly an intentional assonance between kaya 'kaya grass' and aya
'extreme', as well as between ne 'root' and ne- 'to sleep' (Mizushima 1986:
294).
The third line is hypermetric (jiamari, *
#; I] ). However, there are no
grounds to suspect that it was pronounced as [ayanayani], as one would still
expect truncation between the elements of a reduplicated compound or between
a simple repetition of the same adverb.
14.3498 (W)
*)'(
(1)
. Original text
f*7&:~JJ (2) t!11[7&:& l!J~~*\ (3) *Jff~*fLtt (4) f~~7&:flJ~Jl:&1@
(5)flJfLflJ~~~fL~
fli~ O).~ r
L- • Kana transliteration
(1) 5 t~li GO) 2 (2) h~li G.:. ,-tI1' d3) <b~ t~<bnli (4) ~ ,Ji. ,lib
-tG-t (5) bnb-tQn~
BOOK FOURTEEN 187
Romanization
(1) una-para-no (2) NE yapara ko-suNke (3) amata ar-e-Npa (4) kimi pa wasur-
as-u (5) ware wasur-ure ya
Translation
(3) Because there are many (2) little sedges with soft roots (1) at the sea plain
[side], (4) [my] lord will forget [me]. (5) Will I forget [him]? [- Certainly not!]
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
OJ suNke 'sedge' is a metaphor for a young woman. Cf. the same usage in
KK 64-65.
OJ ne 'root' represents a word play with ne- 'sleep'. Consequently, ne
yapara '[with] a soft root' also implies ne-yapara 'easy to sleep with'
(Mizushima 1986: 296).
Line three is hypermetric (jiamari, *~ lJ ), but this is probably just a
graphic illusion, since amata areNpa was in all probability pronounced as
[amatareNpa].
There were two verbs 'to forget' in WOJ: the consonantal verb wasur- 'to
forget intentionally' and the vowel verb wasure- 'to forget unintentionally, to
fade from one's memory naturally'. It is quite clear that in line five we have the
vowel verb wasure- because of the evidential form being wasur-ure, and not
wasur-e. In line three the honorific form wasur-as- superficially looks like that
of the consonantal verb wasur-, but as a matter of fact it is not, because regular
vowel verbs lose their root final vowels before the honorific suffix -as-, e.g. ne-
'to sleep' > n-as- 'sleep-HaN', koyi- 'to lie down' > koy-as- 'lie.down-HON'
(Vovin 2009a: 842). Therefore, in the third line we also have a vowel verb
wasure-, and this, of course, agrees much better with the context of the poem:
the lover of the author will gradually forget her while he is sleeping around with
all these easily accessible women on the beach. Therefore, there is no conscious
effort on his part to forget the author intentionally.
The evidential form wasur-ure 'forget-EV' followed by the interrogative
particle ya represents irony, that is posing a question that implies an opposite
answer (the negative answer to the question in the affirmative, and the positive
answer to the question in the negative).
14.3499 (E)
*X . Original text
(1) -'¥- RJ 1]\-9-
g§ (2) :fpftRJmEj]D:W:~ (3) ~tfJij]D:W:~ (4) ~~q:~~jt:W:7Bl
(5) tfJig~JBt~Wffl:
Romanization
(1) woka-ni yose (2) wa-Nka kar-u kaya-no (3) sa-ne-kaya-no (4) makotO
naNkoya pa (5) ne-ro to [i]p-ena kamo
Translation
(1) [I] bring [her] to the hill, and (4) [she] finds that (2) the kaya grass that I cut,
(3) the kaya grass for sleeping together (4) [is] really soft. (5) [I] wonder
whether [she] wants to say: 'Let us sleep [together]!'
Commentary
On OJ kaya 'kaya grass' see the commentary to 14.3497.
EOJ naNkoya 'soft' corresponds to WOJ naNkOya. This probably indicates
that the phonemic contrast between the ko-rui vowel 101 and the otsu-rui vowel
101 did not exist in the EOJ dialect that underlies this poem.
The word pa in line four cannot possibly be an OJ topic marker, because it
makes no grammatical sense in this position. I believe that it is actually a loan
of Ainu pa 'to find', and this verb not only makes sense in this position in this
poem, it makes a great improvement towards the understanding of this poem
and its smooth reading, something which is lacking in modem commentaries
that do not agree with each other (Omodaka 1977.14: 198-99), (Mizushima
1986: 297).
EOJ ne-ro 'sleep-IMP' corresponds to WOJ ne-yo 'id.'
EOJ [i]pena cannot be a negative form (Mizushima 1986: 297), because
negative suffix cannot conclude a verbal form. Neither can it be an EOJ locative
case marker -na (Omodaka 1977.14: 199), because locatives are not found in
front of kamo. Although the vowel Ie! instead of Ia! might represent a problem,
it is not inconceivable that in some EOJ dialects desiderative -ana could be an
auxiliary rather than a suffix, therefore *-i-ana 'INF-DES' would likely contract
to -ena. Certainly, EOJ overall demonstrates the tendency for PJ *ia to contract
as EOJ a vs. WOJ e, but given the fact that this poem is from an unidentified
section of EOJ, we cannot rule out the fact that in some EOJ dialects there was a
process similar to WOJ rule *ia > e.
Translation
(1/2) Does the gromwell's root have an end, I wonder? (3/4) Although [that]
person's daughter is lovely, (5) [I] have not yet slept with [her] (lit.: the fact is
that [I] did not finish the act of sleeping).
Commentary
OJ murasakf 'gromwell' (~1it, Lithospermum erythrorhizon) is a perennial
grass that grows in the wild in the mountains and in the meadows. Its stalk
ranges from 30 cm (1 ft) to 60 cm (2 ft). It blooms in summer time with small
five-petal white flowers. It just has alternate leaves, and no leafstalks. Its root
has purple color, hence the name of the plant. The root is thick and grows deep
into the ground. The purple liquid extracted from the root is used for dyeing in
combination with the lye extracted from the camellia tree as a color fixative.
Other usage of the root is medicinal, and being regarded as an important plant,
it was also cultivated. The gromwell from the MuNsasi province was especially
famous (Mizushima 1986: 298).
The first two lines represent a poetic introduction (}o, ff:), loosely connected
to the rest of the poem. We encounter again here the play on words ne 'root'
and ne- 'to sleep'. The second line asking about the end of a root hints at the
anticipation of the situation outlined in the fifth line: I have not yet slept with
her, but will there be an end to this situation when I am able to fmish the act of
sleeping with her?
OJ pfto-no kO 'person's child' or 'person's girl' does not necessarily mean
'other person's wife/lover' (Omodaka 1977.11: 31), it may simply indicate 'a
young girl still under parental supervision' (Mizushima 1986: 299).
OJ ura-N-kanasi- 'to be dear/lovely', lit. 'to be dear/lovely to [one's] heart'
consists of ura 'heart', -N-, a contracted form of the locative case marker -ni,
and kanasi- 'to be dear, to be lovely'. Cf. ura-N-kanasi- in 15.3584 'to be sad in
[one's] heart' that exhibits another meaning of kanasi- (the one that survived
into MdJ). See also 14.3443 and 14.3495 for OJ ura 'inside', 'back' is used here
metaphorically for heart as an internal organ.
On EOJ attributive -ke in ura-N-kanasi-ke see the commentary to 14.3412.
EOJ wope- 'to finish' corresponds to WOJ wope- 'id.' This probably
demonstrates that there was no contrast between lei and /e/ in the EOJ dialect
that underlies this poem.
190 MAN'YGSHU
Romanization
(1) Apa wo-ro-no (2) wo-ro TA-ni op-ar-u (3) tapam-i-N-tura (4) pik-aNpa
nUfU-nufU (5) a-wo kotO na-taye
Translation
(4) If [I] ask [you] out, [come] smoothly [to me], (3) [like] a water vine (2) that
is growing in mountain paddies (1) in the hills of Apa (4) that smoothly [comes]
if one pulls [it]. (5) Do not break up with me, please!
Commentary
Apa province c~m~) was located in the extremity of B6s6 peninsula (m¥t¥:
~) in present-day Chiba prefecture. It was one of the Middle Provinces under
Ritsuryo code. On the Ritsuryo code classification of YamatO provinces see the
commentary to 5.818.
The fact that Apa province is mentioned in this poem, means one can
probably identify this poem with certainty as being from this province.
Mizushima has some reservations about this identification, since placename
Apa also occurs in Pitati (1986: 299-300). Nakanishi is more inclined to see this
placename as corresponding to Apa province, but he also leaves the
identification with a question mark (1985: 419).
On EOJ diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
EOJ op-ar- 'grow-PROG' corresponds to WOJ op-er- 'id.' On the EOJ
progressive suffix -ar- corresponding to WOJ -er- see the commentary to
14.3351.
On EOJ op- 'to grow' as a consonantal verb see the commentary to 14.3488.
EOJ tapamfNtura (lit. 'bending vine') is a hapax legomenon indicati~ some
kind of vine. It is variously identified as mikuri-gusa 'bur reed' (-=. ~ lit,
Sparganium erectum),junsai 'water shield' (Y.::L ./'-tT-1, Brasenia schreberi),
or hirumushiro '?' (I:::: ;vA "/ P , Potamogeton distinctus) (Omodaka et al.
1967: 436). I adopt a neutral translation 'water vine'.
On double meaning of OJ pfk- 'to pull, to invite' see the commentary to
14.3378. This double meaning dictated the necessity to translate line four twice.
For poems with a similar content see 14.3378 and 14.3416.
14.3502 (E)
*::t . Original text
(1) f[]fi § R~ (2) .lt~iBlfttA.tLtt (3) *{tcfi{~ffig (4) ~l;!!,{tcfg:c~~
(5) f[]iBlftcPJi5TEfifif
fBt~ (7Yi! ~ r L- • Kana transliteration
(1) bi6~ ~ 2 ~j:: (2) "(} I ~ 211 ~ :h ~" < 2 (3) cb ~ i6Q10) 2 (4) ~ 2 L ~ '" 2
=- 2 ::::.' 2 .!::: 2 (5) bl::t ~ 1J'0 iJ~'" 2
BOOK FOURTEEN 191
Romanization
(1) wa-Nka meNt-u rna (2) pitO pa sak-ure-Nt6 (3) asaNkapo-n6 (4) t6si sape
k6Nk6tO (5) wa pa sakar-u Nkape
Translation
(2) Although others [try to] separate (1) my beloved wife [from me], (3) who is
[beautiful] like a morning glory, (5) Will I be separated [from her] (4) even if
[her] years [are] many? [- Certainly not!]
Commentary
The traditional interpretation of § Riff meNtuma as a haplology of meNt-u
[tu]ma 'beloved wife' (Omodaka 1977.14: 202), (Mizushima 1986: 302) in line
one is problematic. The first problem is that meNte- 'to love' is a vowel verb, at
least in WOJ (there are no other EOJ attestations, except this one), so we would
expect attributive meNt-uru, not meNt-u. On the other hand, the EOJ verb could
be consonantal, and not the vowel, cf. EOJ op- 'to grow' vs. WOJ opij- attested
in 14.3488 and 14.3501 above. In addition, there is § R~ meNt-u KG 'beloved
child' (16.3880), where the final form is used as an attributive. The second
problem is more serious: we would expect a haplology to happen only in the
case of two identical syllables, in other words meNtuma can only be derived
from *meNtuNtuma, but not from *meNtutuma, since INtu/ and /tu/ are not
identical syllables. *meNtuNtuma < *meNt-u-n6 tuma 'love-FIN-GEN spouse'
certainly will be ungrammatical for the Nara period language. All this prompts
me to come up with a different solution: -ma in meNtuma has nothing to do with
OJ tuma 'spouse', but represents a loan of Ainu mat 'wife', with the expected
loss of the syllable final -t in EOJ. This solution eliminates the problem
presented by the traditional haplology explanation, and also explains much
better the social background of the poem, namely why other people try to
separate the author from his wife. The reason appears to be purely ethnic - she
happens to be an Ainu.
OJ asaNkapo 'morning glory' (!M&t, Ipomoea nil) < *asa-n6 kapo 'morning
face' is an annual plant that originated in the tropics of Asia and was imported
to Japan from China. It has sinistrorse stalk and blooms with big trumpet-
shaped flowers in summer. Flowers can be purple, red, indigo, or striped. Seeds
can be black, brown, or white. The dried seeds of morning glory are used in
Chinese medicine as a laxative or a diuretic known as kengosi ($: L:j::: ~ ).
Morning glory is a season word for autumn.
EOJ k6Nk6t6 is a hapax legomenon that is believed to mean 'many',
although as with any hapax legomenon, this remains only a working hypothesis.
On EOJ interrogative particle Nkape see the commentary to 14.3420.
192 MAN'yOSHO
Romanization
(1) atu-ka-N-kata (2) sipo pI-no yuta n-i (3) omop-er-aNpa (4) ukera-Nka pana-
no (5) iro-ni [i]Nte-m-e ya mo .
Translation
(3) If I would be thinking [about you], (2) as carefree as an ebbing tide is (1) on
the sea tideland, (5) would [my love] show in [my facial] color (4) like an ukera
flower [- Certainly not!]
Commentary
The main controversy in this poem is related to the second character in line one.
Most modem commentators take it to be the character 7f!f 'to put in order',
which they read Nse (Takagi et al. 1959: 443), (Omodaka 1977.14: 204),
(Mizushima 1986: 303), (Nakanishi 1981: 274), or se (Kubota 1967: 236),
(Kojima et al. 1973: 488), (Tsuchiya 1977.7: 355), (lt6 1997: 497), (Satake et aL
2002: 359), or very rarely sa (Takeda 1966[1955]: 382), creating the placename
here to be *7f!fPJ aNseka ~ aseka ~ asaka. There are two problems here. First,
the character 7f!f is not used in the Man 'yoshu as a phonographic man 'yogana
sign except in this poem. The only OJ text wh~re it is used as a phonogram is
the Nihonshoki, where it appears six times (Ono 1953: 248-49, 298), (Mori
1991: 228). But the Nihonshoki employs a different kind of man 'yogana from
the Man 'yoshu: man 'yogana B (Vovin 2005: 24-25). Second, although most
manuscripts have the character 7f!f, the two oldest ones, the Genryaku kOhon and
the Ruiju koshu have different characters (Mizushima 1984a: 311). The Ruijii
koshii has the sosho character that probably reflects ::x: on the top of the bottom
part of 7f!f, but to the best of my knowledge such a character does not exist. The
sosho form found in the Genryaku kohon is much more interesting, as it reflects
the character fit 'holy', and not 7f!f 'to put in order'. Although most manusctiPts
present 7f!f and not ~, the direction of a scribal mistake is most likely to be %f >
7f!f, and not 7f!f > fit, because the former includes omission, and the latter
addition. Addition is unlikely as a source of a scribal mistake. Both fit and 7f!f
would be used as the same ongana, but given the fact that fit does not appear as
an ongana sign at all in the OJ corpus, the only possible solution is that it might
be used as a kungana sign. The kun readings of fit are itu 'holy' and ituk- 'to
a rendered by *
serve to deities'. Given the fact that we need just one syllable, and the fact that
and Iii of itu or ituk- cannot be found next to each other due to
the rules of OJ phonotactics (vowel clusters are not allowed), the character fit
most likely stands for the syllable tu. Since kungana in contrast to ongana tends
to be less precise, the pOSSibility seems even more reliable. Consequently, we
can read *fitPJ as atuka. I believe that atuka is a loanword from Ainu atuy-ka
'on the sea' (atuy 'sea', ka 'top'). Note that Ainu -y> EOJ -0, cf. Ainu suy
'again' > EOJ su 'id.' (14.3363), Ainu nay 'river' > EOJ na 'id.' (14.3401), and
BOOK FOURTEEN 193
that this correspondence of Ainu -y to EOJ -0 is regular. Thus, the first line can
be interpreted as atu-ka-N-kata 'sea tideland', that makes much more sense than
the otherwise unattested placename Aseka or ANseka. ANse lake (~£mJ)
mentioned in Pitati Fudoki (Nakanishi 1985: 417) is certainly a poor equivalent
for the identification.
On OJ kata 'sea bed, tideland' see the commentary to 15.3595.
On ukera flower and its metaphoric usage for the facial expression betraying
one's feelings see the commentary to 14.3376.
The implied meaning of this poem is: 'Since I cannot think of you carefree,
my love certainly will show in my facial color' (Mizushima 1986: 304).
Romanization
(1) paru-N-pe ~ak-u (2) puNti-no ura-N-pa-no (3) ura yasu n-i (4) sa n-uru YO
so na-ki (5) KO-ro-wo si [o]mop-e-Npa
Translation
(5) Because [I] think about [my] dear girl, (4) there is no night when [I] sleep
(3) peacefully (2) like tip leaves of wisteria (1) that blooms in spring.
Commentary
The first two lines represent the poetic introduction (jo, ff:) to the rest of the
poem.
OJ puNti 'wisteria' refers to a variety of this plant known as MdJ nodafuji
(J .;;" 7 -/, Wisteria floribunda) 'Japanese wisteria', a deciduous plant that
grows in the wild in fields and mountains, but also may be cultivated. It has a
very long creeping stalk that winds dexterously around other things. It blooms
from spring to early summer with purple flowers that are clustered in the
bunches hanging down.
Leaves growing on the tip of a branch or a bunch are called ura-N-pa or ure-
pa, where ura- is a bound form of ure 'top of a tree', 'tip of a branch'.
On EOJ diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351. This is the
only EOJ feature in this poem.
194 MAN'VOSHU
14.3505 (W)
*X . Orig~nal text
(1) '¥fm~JLJ3 (2) ~~RE:mi(JiT¥SRE: (3) PJf*~*RE: (4) tJll;J.t;R{Htt<t
(5) 1~~e~~l:t~
Romanization
(1) uti pi' satu (2) Mi'yanaseNkapa-na (3) kapo-N-pana-na (4) kopHe ka n-
uram-u (5) ki'sa mo ka yapi' mo
Translation
(4) Will [my beloved] sleep longing for [me] (3) like a bindweed flower (2) at
Mi'yanaseNkapa river (1) (makura-kotoba) (5) both last night and tonight?
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
The first three lines represent the poetic introduction Uo, Ff:) to the rest of
the poem.
The first line represents a phonetic variant of the permanent epithet (makura-
kotoba, tt~ijJ) uti pi sasu, on which see the commentary to 5.886. The word pi
in uti pi satu may mean 'sun', but the other two words are obscure.
MiyanoseNkapa (lit.: mfya-no se-N-kapa 'palace rapids river') in line two is
in all probability a placename, but its location is unknown. According to one
theory it is Miyagawa river ('8) II) that flows into Suwa lake (IDIHhi'lilJ) in
present-day Nagano prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 490).
OJ kapo-N-pana 'bindweed flower' (lit. 'face-flower'), also attested as kapo-
Nka pana (see 14.3575), can be identified as MdJ hirugao 'bindweed' (~~,
Calystegia japonica), a perennial vine that grows in the fields and at the
roadsides. In the summer it blooms with the big reddish trumpet-shaped flowers
that resemble asagao 'morning glory'. Because kapo-Np-ana's flowers bloom
during the daytime, and droop at night, it is used metaphorically here in
conjunction with line three 'will [she] sleep longing for me?' (Mizushima 1986:
305-306).
OJ kiso 'last night' is an obscure formation, although its first syllable ki is
usually compared with ki of kinopu 'yesterday', and the last syllable so with
Nso of koNso 'last year' (Omodaka et al. 1967: 241). Neither of these
comparisons explain the etymology of the word.
This is a poem composed by a man.
BOOK FOURTEEN 195
Romanization
(1) nipi muro-nq (2) koNtOk-i-ni itar-e-Npa (3) paNta susuki (4) po-ni [i]Nte-si
kimi-Nka (5) MI-ye-n-u kono koro
Translation
(2) When [it] came to the blessing with words (1) of the new house, (5) at this
time [I] could not see (4) [my] lord who expressed [his feelings for me] openly
(3) (makura-kotoba).
Commentary
OJ muro is a 'room' or a 'one-room house' in contrast to OJ ipe or OJ ya that
could refer to multi-room houses as well.
Line two is hypennetric (jiamari, *~ ~), but this is probably just a graphic
illusion, since koNtok-f-ni itar-e-Npa was in all probability pronounced as
[koNtokinitareNpa] .
The major controversy in the interpretation of this poem concerns the word
~q:JJlf~ koNtokf in line two. The dominant school of thought believes that it
reflects ko-n[o]-tokf 'time of silkwonns' [feeding]' (Takagi et al. 1959: 443),
(Kojima et al. 1973: 488), (Omodaka 1977.14: 207), (Nakanishi 1981: 275),
(Mizushima 1986: 306), (Ito 1997: 503), (Satake et al. 2002: 360), (Aso 2011:
433). The fact that ko 'silkwonn' < 'child' is spelled as ko in this poem is not
really a problem, because such a spelling occurs elsewhere in book fourteen
(14.3361, 14.3369). What is much more bothersome is the fact that the
existence of the custom of building a new house for silkwonns is not textually
confinned for the Asuka or Nara periods. In addition, with this interpretation of
koNtokf, the phrase nipf muro-no ko-N-tokf 'silkwonn time in a new room' is
not an excitingly smooth construction to read (Mizushima 1986: 307). A
minority of scholars believes that the word ~q:JJlbt koNtokf is a contraction of
WOJ koto-pok- 'to bless with words' (Takeda 1966[1955]: 385), (Kubota 1967:
237-38), (Tsuchiya 1977.7: 357-58). Unlike the custom of building the new
house for feeding silkwonns, the custom of blessing new houses is textually
attested (Takeda 1966[1955]: 385). However, the phonetic contraction of
kotopok- to koNtok- that is proposed by partisans of this hypothesis is
completely impossible in the Nara period from the point of view of Japanese
historical phonology. The context of this poem, however, strongly suggests that
koNtok- is indeed 'to bless with words' or something like that. 1 believe that the
safest way is to assume that there was an EOJ verb koNtok- 'to bless with
words'. 1 also think that the ultimate provenance of this EOJ word goes back to
Ainu. Ainu itak 'word, speech, language, to speak', which also has magical
connotations, cf. itak-ko 'shamaness', can be used in its directive fonn ko-itak
'to speak to, to address words to' that is nonnally contracted to koytak. Given
196 MAN'YDSHO
the facts that syllable-final Ainu -y gives -0 in EOJ (see the commentary to
14.3503), and that Ainu intervocalic voiced were nonnally borrowed into EOJ
as prenasalized voiced (see the commentary to 14.3363), we expect Ainu koytak
[koydak] - [koyDak] to be reflected in EOJ as *koNtak. The only difference
between *koNtak- and our koNtok- is the vocalism of the second syllable, but
the fonn koNtok- can be ultimately explained as resulting from the progressive
assimilation koNtak- > koNtok-.
OJ paNta susukf is considered to be a pennanent epithet (makura-kotoba, tt
~jij) to the word po 'ear (of a plant)'.44 OJ susuki is clearly 'Japanese pampas
grass' (see the commentary to 15.3681), which has ears, but the situation with
the first word is more complex. OJ paNta susuki occurs in the Man 'yoshii nine
times, with paNta spelled phonographically with on-yomi man 'yogana (iE{'*:,
four times) and kun-yomi man 'yogana (::g- EE, once), and once either
semantographically with the character 5. 'skin' (if paNta really means 'skin'
here), or using kun-yomi technique as well (ifpaNta does not mean 'skin' here).
In addition, there is probably a variant pata susuki with pata having a voiceless
consonant I-t-I, which is attested twice in the Man 'yoshii, but since both times
the pata is spelled semantographically with the character :Jijl; pata 'flag', it is
difficult to say whether it is really meant to be Ipata/ or is an imperfect kun-yomi
representation for paNta. Thus, the evidence for the interpretation that pata
susuki actually implies that susuki 'pampas grass' is streaming in the wind like a
flag is actually very slim even with the addition of one phonographic example
from the !zumo Fudoki (Omodaka et al. 1967: 581). On the other hand, paNta
'skin' seems to make no sense: the varieties of susuki I am familiar with are
somewhat rough and ticklish to the touch. Besides, as far as I can tell, OJ paNta
'skin' does not refer to the skin of animals, but only to the smooth skin of
humans, especially women, therefore, paNta susuki cannot be understood as
'susuki, rough and ticklish to the touch like the animal fur'. Consequently, the
analysis of this makura-kotoba is better to be left on a back burner for the time
being.
OJ idiomatic expression po-ni iNte- lit.: 'to go out into the ear (of a plant)'
means 'to show openly [one's feelings]'.
14.3507 (W)
*X
(1)
. Original text
$-1]\iJt~~(2) 51]\1:p1]\iE{l:t$-rJTC (3) $-IffPJR& (4) $-Mftt1llic~fg
(5) fo;ij;-a¥Bl~~1]\
44 But see 14.3565 below where paNta susuki is used as a makura-kotoba for a specific mountain.
BOOK FOURTEEN 197
Translation
(5) I do not have on [my] mind (4) any desire to break [our relationship] (3)
[that is like] a beautiful vine (2) that is creeping to the peak (1) because the
valley is narrow.
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
OJ seNpa- and MJ seba- 'to be narrow' is replaced by sema- 'id.' only
starting from the Edo period.
MdJ mine 'summit, peak' goes back to the combination of the OJ honorific
prefix mi- and ne 'summit, peak'.
OJ tama 'jewel, pearl' could be used to modify the following noun as a
beautificator.
OJ kaNtura 'vine' is a generic term for different types of vines, such as
kuNsu, turu, etc. Vine is a metaphor referring to a love relationship.
Romanization
(1) SINPATUKI-no (2) MIura saki-n-ar-u (3) NEtuko-N-kusa (4) api-MI-Ns-u
ar-aNpa (5) are kopY-m-e ya mo
Translation
(4) If [we] did not meet each other, (3) [me and my beloved, who is like] a
pasqueflower (2) from Miura cape (1) in SiNpatuki, (5) would I long [for her]?!
[- Certainly not!]
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
The location ofSiNpatuki is unknown (Mizushima 1986: 310).
Miura cape is probably one of the capes on the Miura peninsula c== nfP~£ ~)
in present-day Kanagawa prefecture (Mizushima 1986: 310). Therefore, we
know that this poem is likely to come from the SaNkamu province.
198 MAN'YQSHD
14.3509 (E)
*X
(1)
. Original text
~tJ.,.x~Jt~(2) Z.B!:;&~PJ £ffig (3) &~~H£J: (4) 11 g~1t'~12ffig
(5) *n~q:~~$-a
Romanization
(1) taku-N-pusuma (2) Sira yama kaNse-no (3) NE-n-ap-e-Ntomo (4) ka-ro-
Nka ski-no (5) ar-a koso ye-si-mo
Translation
(3) Although (I] continue not to sleep (2) at the [cold] wind from the White
Mountain, (1) [that is white like] covers [made] from the mulberry tree [bark
cloth], (5) [it] is good to have (4) [my] dear girl's garment!
Commentary
On taku 'mulberry tree' and taku-N-pusuma 'covers made from the mulberry
tree [bark cloth]' see the commentaries to 15.3587 and 14.3432. The first line is
considered to be a permanent epithet (makura-kotoba, tt~iij) to the word sira
'white' (Omodaka 1977.14: 210), but in this poem it can be incorporated into
the translation.
Sira yama 'White mountain' can probably be identified as present-day Mt.
Shirayama (B ~, 2702 m) on the border of Ishikawa county (.:t:i) II m) in
Ishikawa prefecture and Ono county (::kmtm) in Gifu prefecture (Omodaka
1977.14: 211), although Nakanishi is somewhat skeptical (1985: 454). Thus, if
identification is correct, we can assign this poem either to KaNka or PiNta
province. Since this poem is in EOJ, this observation is important, as it
demonstrates that EOJ was extending in the northern part of Chabu or southern
BOOK FOURTEEN 199
part of Hokuriku quite far to the west. Unfortunately, since we do not have any
identified poems either from KaNka or PiNta provinces that would have the
same EOJ features, it is not possible to draw any definite conclusions.
The verbal form ne-n-ap- 'to continue not to sleep', with the iterative -ap-
following negative, demonstrates typical EOJ order of morphemes, as in WOJ
the order is reversed, with negative following the iterative. For more details see
Vovin (2009a: 820-28).
On EOJ diminutive suffix -ra see the commentary to 14.3351.
EOJ osaki 'garment' is a hapax legomenon. Modern commentators usually
follow Keichii's explanation that equates WOJ osupi 'upper garment, cloak' and
EOJ osaki (Omodaka 1977.14: 211). Mizushima further suggests that EOJ osaki
represents a contraction from osupi + tuk-i 'attach-INF' (1986: 312). Both
suggestions, osupi > osaki and osupi tuki > osaki are impossible from the
viewpoint of the historical phonology and morphophonology of the Japanese
language.
On the EOJ verbal attributive -0 see the commentary to 14.3395 and a brief
description of EOJ special grammar in the introduction.
OJ ye- 'to be good' is a phonetic variant of OJ ya- 'id.'
Romanization
(1) mi-sora yuk-u (2) kumo n-i moNkamo na (3) kepu yuk-i-te (4) imo-ni
kot6Ntop-i (5) asu kaper-i-ko-m-u
Translation
(2) [I] want to be a cloud (1) that floats in the sky! (3) [I] would go today, (4)
talk to [my] beloved, and (5) come back tomorrow.
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
OJ maNkama (misspelled as moNkama in this poem) is a desiderative
particle. For details see Vovin (2009a: 1230-234).
OJ particle na is an exclamation particle. For details see Vovin (2009a:
1270-73).
According to Mizushima, OJ kataNtap- is a polysemantic word with the
following meanings: a) 'to say things', 'to speak', b) 'to talk [tenderly] with',
'to talk together' (usually of a man and a woman), c) 'to inquire', 'to ask', d) 'to
visit' (1986: 313). However, Omodaka et al. present the examples that include
200 MAN'yOSHU
only a), b), and c), but not d) (1967: 300-301). The verb occurs also as kototop-,
which indicates that the prenasalized voicing in kotoNtop- is secondary. This
makes the etymology of the word rather transparent: koto 'word' or 'thing' +
top- 'to ask'. Omodaka et al. futher note that although the verb 'to ask' occurs
as both t6p- and top-, the verb kotoNtop- itself occurs only with otsu-rui vowel
o (1967: 300). This can be easily explained as a result of progressive vowel
assimilation.
14.3511 (E)
*:>c . Original text
(1) *SJLtfJI8JJ\ (2) ~~~l!f!!A.~£3:~ (3) {jt{:tW\l:tJJ\ (4) Ij&.J~SJL~M'~:th
(5) ~,1[!DJB~~c8
Romanization
(1) awo ne-ro-ni (2) tanaNpik-u kumo-no (3) isayop-i n-i (4) MOno-wo so
omop-u (5) t6si-no kono koro
Translation
(3) Hesitating/drifting (2) like clouds that are trailing (1) at the small green
peaks, (4) [1] am deep in my thoughts (5) this time of the year.
Commentary
On EOJ diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351. This is the only
EOJ feature in this poem.
There is an opinion that the first line represents a play on words (kakekotoba,
tlHiiJ) awo-ne-ro 'small green peak' and a-wo ne-ro 'sleep with me!' (Kojima et
al. 1973: 490), (Nakanishi 1981: 276), (Mizushima 1986: 314). Content-wise it
seems to be reasonable (a woman hesitates whether to accept man's proposal),
but there is one serious grammatical problem: ne- 'to sleep' can be a transitive
verb, but it cannot take animate nouns or personal pronouns as its object.
OJ isay6p- can mean both 'to hesitate' and 'to drift' (Omodaka et al. 1967:
73), so it is likely that there is a play on words (kakekotoba, m~iiJ) here.
14.3512 (E)
*:>c . Original text
(1) l:1::~tfJI 81]\ (2) {jt~tm~~PJ & (3) *SJLtfJI 8 JJ\ (4) {jtf:tW\:th!A. £3:~~
(5) ~~ mf\)$ftBl£3:
fBt~ Oy. ~ r
l, . Kana transliteration
Romanization
(1) pitO ne-ro n-i (2) ip-ar-u monokara (3) awo ne-ro-ni (4) isayop-u kumo-no (5)
yosor-i tuma pa mo
Translation
(2) Although [they] say that (1) [we] are one peak, (5) ah, [she] is an intimate
spouse [only in rumors] (4) who is like a cloud, driftinglhesitating (3) on green
peaks.
Commentary
Kojima et al. build further on the hypothesis that awo ne-ra 'small green peaks'
represents the play on words (kakekotoba, r:IHjij) with a-wo ne-ra 'sleep with
me!' (see the commentary to 14.3511), and speculates that the first two lines
pita ne-ra n-i ip-ar-u monakara 'although [they] say that [we] are one peak' is
also a play on words with 'although [other] person [says] sleep [with me]!'
(1973: 490). Consequently, we have two suitors competing for the same woman.
Similarly to a-wo ne-ra in 14.3511 (and this poem as well), this hypothesis also
has a grammatical obstacle: we would expect pita ne-ra to ip-ar-u monakara
with the defective verb ta, and not pita ne-ra n-i ip-ar-u monakara with the
infinitive form n-i of the defective verb n-. Mizushima also voices mild
skepticism regarding this interpretation (1986: 316-17).
On EOJ diminutive suffIx -ra see the commentary to 14.3351.
On the EOJ progressive suffIx -ar- corresponding to WOJ -er- see the
commentary to 14.3351.
OJ yasar- 'to approach' may also have the meaning '[to be rumored] to have
intimate relationship'.
On OJ isayop- 'to hesitate', 'to drift' see the commentary to 14.3511 above.
I follow Omodaka (1977.14: 213) in transcribing :W Iff as tuma 'spouse'
rather than as -N-tuma, preferred by the majority of modem commentators
(Mizushima 1984a: 326), because there is no overt indication of prenasa1ized
voicing in the man 'yogana script, and also because the infinitive in EOJ unlike
WOJ can be used in an adnominal modifier function, see the commentary to
14.3415.
Romanization
(1) yupu sar-e-Npa (2) ipi-yama-wo sar-an-u (3) nino-N-kumo-no (4) aNse ka
taye-m-u to (5) ip-l-si KO-ro pa mo
202 MAN'YQSHO
Translation
(5) Ah, the girl who said: (4) 'Why should [our relationship] be broken off (3)
like the cloth-like clouds (2) that do not leave mountains (1) when the evening
comes?'
Commentary
The first three lines represent a metaphoric poetic introduction (hiyuteki jo, 1:1::
1lij«i¥JJ¥) to the rest of the poem (Omodaka 1977.14: 214).
Note the semantic ambivalence regarding the direction of moving of the verb
sar- that can mean both 'to come' and 'to go'.
On EOJ nino 'cloth' see the commentary to 14.3351.
On EOJ aNse 'why' see the commentary to 14.3369.
On EOJ diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
14.3514 (E)
*X
(1)
. Original text
(2)
~RJtztfJi/j\ !A..=§~~!A..~~J{ (3) ;fOtLli:fi&/j\ (4) f~~/j\~6~Jj~
(5) ~ RJtfJi~=§1:1:: Cj
Romanization
(1) taka-ki ne-ni (2) kuma-no tuk-u-nosu (3) ware sape n-i (4) kimi-ni tuk-i-n-
ana (5) taka ne to [o]map-i-te
Translation
(5) Thinking [of you] as a high peak, (3) I also (4) would have liked to cling to
[my] lord (2) like clouds cling (I) to a high peak.
Commentary
Note the parallel usage of an inflected adjective taka- 'to be high' and its
uninflected equivalent taka 'high'.
On EOJ comparative case marker -nosu see the commentary to 14.3413.
Mizushima thinks that this poem is composed by a wife who was just visited
by her husband, who does not live with her pennanently, but she wants to live
with him on an everyday basis (1986: 319). Needless to say, this analysis is no
more than a possible speculation, based on the text's interpretation, and it is not
supported by textual evidence.
BOOK FOURTEEN 203
Romanization
(1) a-Nka omoo;.no (2) wasure-m-u siNta pa (3) kuni papur-i (4) ne-ni tat-u
kumo-wo (5) MI-tutu sinop-as-e
Translation
(2) When [you] forget (I) my face, (5) long for [me] while looking (3/4) at the
clouds that spring [from] the earth and rise to the peaks.
Commentary
Due to the usage of the mild honorific suffix -as-, this poem is likely to be
composed by a woman. In all probability it constitutes a sequence with the
following 14.3516, which looks like a man's response to it.
On OJ wasure- 'to forget unintentionally', 'to fade from one's memory' see
the commentary to 14.3498.
On EOJ siNta 'time' see the commentary to 14.3363.
14.3516 (E)
*X
(1)
. Ori~nal text
tt~fflgt1)\~
(2) Z~~.:£'tC&i¥J~ (3) RJ$fflgf1)\iJ\ (4) ~~~!IJ!!A.~.:£--'¥
(5) ~;gj)i!~L'i!'!,~ 7Bl.:£
Translation
(2) Low clouds never appear (1) at Tukusi peaks. (5) [I] will long for [you]
while looking (4) at the clouds that are trailing (3) over the deity's peak.
Commentary
This poem looks like a response by a man who went to serve as a border guard
(OJ sakfmori) at Tsushima island to the previous poem composed by his wife or
lover (14.3515) (Omodaka 1977.14: 217), (Mizushima 1986: 324).
WOJ Tusima (MdJ Tsushima, JtJ~!§) is the island (now actually two islands
since the canal was dug across its most narrow point in modem times) halfway
between Korea and Japan. The island is of volcanic origin, composed mostly of
~ueous rock (suiseigan, *pj(;:fi) and quartz porphyry (sekieihangan, ;P9H~1
E), and is mostly mountainous, with the average level above sea level at 200-
300 m. The highest mountains on Tsushima are Yatateyama (~3L~, 649 m),
Tatsurayama (~ .& ~, 559 m), Ariakeyama (:ff ~ ~, 558 m), and
Osimageyama (*!%=8~, 555 m). It is possible that the reference to a Tukusi
peak is made to one of these mountains, and more specifically to the
Ariakeyama that is located in the south of the island, but Mizushima is skeptical
about this latter identification (1986: 321).
Man 'y6gana character Jt is a disyllabic phonogram standing for tusi. Both
the vowel and the final -si probably indicate that this reading goes back to very
old times, as the Late Han reading of the character li is tUiJS, cf. EMC tw(L{
(Schuessler 2009: 313). It goes without saying that the EMC reading tw(L{
cannot possibly underlie tusi.
OJ sita-N-kumo indicates the lower layer of clouds. Since Tsushima does not
14.3517 (E)
*Jt
(1)
. Original text
,~,&~':Bfm (?). $~1J\zfJl"~-'¥- (3) ~iiJ~ggg~ (4) ~q:cg1J\fj~m"3
(5) ~q:c~PJtl~z~
Translation
(5) [She] is extremely dear [to me], (4) so [it] weighs heavily on [my] heart (3)
what (lit.: how) [should I] do about (2) [my] beloved who separated [from me]
(I) like a white cloud.
Commentary
The first line sira kumo-no 'like a white cloud' is considered to be a permanent
epithet (makura-kotoba, tt~pJ) to the verb taye- 'to be broken' (Omodaka
1977.14: 218), (Mizushima 1986: 325). However, since the metaphor is quite
transparent here, I incorporate it into my translation. See details in the
commentary to 14.3519 below.
On E01 aNse 'why' see the commentary to 14.3369.
On EOJ diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
KokoNpa 'extremely, so much' seems to be attested predominantly in EOJ,
while its equivalent kokoNta mostly occurs in WOJ. The forms are only
partially related, since they exhibit different suffixation. For details see Vovin
(2009a: 1107-09).
On EOJ attributive -ke in kanasi-ke see the commentary to 14.3412.
206 MAN'YGSHU
Romanization
(1) ipa-no [u]pe-ni (2) i-kakar-u kuma (3) ka-numa-N-tuk-u (4) pito so otap-ap-
u (5) iNsa ne-sime tara
Translation
(2) Clouds that hang (1) over the rocks (3) go down to the upper marsh. (4)
People are singing all the time. (5) Hey, let [me] sleep together [with you]!
Commentary
This poem is clearly a textual variant of 14.3409, with lines three to five being
practically identical. The only major difference is the focus particle so in the
fourth line of 14.3518 instead of its variant to in 14.3409. Minor differences
Z.
involve variant spellings, such as ka-numa 'upper marsh' spelled as PJftJ(}ff in
14.3409 and as PJ~M in 14.3518, tora 'together' spelled as JJRi in 14.3409
and as JJ~ in 3518, and the causative suffix -sime- spelled correctly as,0* in
14.3409 and misspelled as -sime- in 14.3518. Neither of these spelling
differences affect interpretation and translation.
Prefix i- is a marker of a directive-locative focus. For details see Vovin
(2009a: 561-68).
On the rest see the commentary to 14.3409.
. Original text
14.3519 (W)
*X
(1)
(5) *'
~n~iB(W7]\ (2)
£' JUfif El3 PJ ftt
2~17IJ*,i15lEl3R (3) *,-¥R=8~ (4) {Jl""'7 *flJ1i:£J:5e.
f&~ Oyjlf ~ r .
~ Kana transliteration
(1) f~iJqj:I:H:: (2) :. 2 Ghiblj:~ <
(3) ib~ <t 1 (J) 2 (4) It \-c-:' 2 b~' I
t 2 : . I (5) ib {} I J-;. I --C ~ iJ~tr
Romanization
(1) na-Nka papa-ni (2), kor-are a pa yuk-u (3) awo kuma-no (4) iNte-KO wa-
NK-imo-KO (5) api-MI-TE yuk-am-u
Translation
(1/2) Being scolded by your mother I will go away. (3) Like a blue cloud, (4)
come out, my dear beloved. (5) [I] will go away after [we] see each other.
BOOK FOURTEEN 207
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
This poem has an unusually high percentage of semantograms for an Eastern
poem. Probably it should not be so surprising, because the poem is written in
WOJ.
Awo kuma 'blue cloud' (awo 'blue, green' is at the dark end of the color
spectrum) is considered to be a pennanent epithet (makura-kotoba, tt~lij) to the
verb iNte-ko- 'to come out'. There are various hypotheses explaining the usage
of awo kuma 'blue/dark clouds': a) because dark clouds gush out, b) awo kuma
indicate not the 'blue clouds', but the blue sky seen between clouds, c) 'blue
clouds' have blue or gray color with a tinge of black (Mizushima 1986: 328-29).
1 wonder whether some deep cultural color symbolism is involved here. Cf. sira
kuma 'white cloud' in 14.3517, which is used to describe the situation of the
break-up of the relationship. Here the situation is different: in spite of odds such
as an unfriendly mother of the woman, the relationship is apparently solid. Now,
in the general East Asian and even more widely in Eurasian color symbolism
white is associated with the West and blue with the East. The West is the side of
sunset and death, the East of the sunrise and life. Consequently 'blue cloud' is
applicable to a live and sturdy relationship, and 'white cloud' to a dead and
broken one.
Note that OJ vowel verbs may have their stems as imperative fonns without
following -yo or -roo Hence we have ko 'come!' in this poem. 45 For details see
Vovin (2009a: 655-60).
14.3520 (E)
*Jt
(I)
. Original text
(2)
D':.'::§PJ~fig fo~J'HL$Z::t~ (3) D':.':J'e1mrgi]\ (4) ~*~~!A.~£3:5j2
(5) J!:mi~L'G',~~$
fBt~ O).~ r
L- • Kana transliteration
(I) :to b Itptc.O) 2 (2) VT:htJ L-t;::li (3) :tollo) ] 6 21~ (4) tc.ft.LJ 1< <
b 2 ~ (5) Ji- 1 -'J-'J LO) llitJ
Romanization
(1) omo-kata-n9 (2) wasure-m-u siNta pa (3) opo NO-ro-ni (4) tanaNpik-u
kumo-wo (5) MI-tutu sinop-am-u
Translation
(2) When [I] forget (1) the shape of [your] face, (5) [I] will long for [you],
looking (4) at the clouds that trail (3) over the big field.
45Although ko 'come!' is spelled semantographically, we can conclude that it is kG and not ko-yo
on the basis of the meter of the poem.
208 MAN'YC>SHO
Commentary
See 14.3515 and 14.3516 for some similar or even identical lines.
On OJ wasure- 'to forget unintentionally', 'to fade from one's memory' see
the commentary to 14.3498.
On EOJ siNta 'time' see the commentary to 14.3363.
On EOJ diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351. In this poem,
given opo no 'big field', -ro is unlikely to have a diminutive function, unless
this is a placename. It can, however, have an endearment function (Vovin 2005:
211).
14.3521 (E)
*:>c . Ori~nal text
(1) PI (2)
1~}Jl: ~:ffl' ff~1*= -'¥- ~ tt 1::[ 1lli (3) I#li: 1§ /J\:::§ (4) 1J( 1# li: fr~ 1J( ~-'¥
(5) ~q:gR~~~R
r
fBU6 O).~ L- • Kana transliteration
(1) IPG't" ~ 2 b (2) :t311~.:t 2 ~" 2 ~ 0) (3) '1 ~ -C'I:: t (4) '2' 1 '1 ~ 'd:d.
< <
2 1
'2' I Jj. I ~ (5) -=- 2.iS 2 ~ 2.:t 2 tch
Romanization
(1) karasu to [i]p-u (2) opo woso-N-tOri-no (3) masaNte n-i mo (4) k-i-[i]mas-
an-u kimi-wo (5) koroku / ko-ro k-u to so nak-u
Translation
(2) A big lying bird, (I) which [they] call a crow, (5) cries 'caw-caw' / 'Your
dear lad is coming' (3/4) about [my] lord who is not really coming.
Commentary
Poems 14.3521-14.3542 are love poems that involve mentioning birds or
animals. Among these twenty-four poems (including two variants, 14.3537a and
14.3538a), eight are dealing with birds (14.3520-14.3528), one with a hare
(14.3529), one with a deer (14.3530), one with game animals (14.3531), and the
remaining thirteen (14.3532-14.3542) with horses (Mizushima 1986: 332).
OJ and MdJ karasu 'crow' (,~ • $, Corvus) is a black bird with blue or
purple sheen. It cries mostly at dawn. Crows are omnivores and very intelligent.
They can be hunted as game, but their meat tastes awful (Nakanishi 1985: 292).
The interpretation of EOJ woso in line two is a subject of controversy. All
modem Japanese commentators, with the exception of Tsuchiya, follow the
proposal of Takeda Yiikichi (Takeda 1966 [1955]: 396-97) who believes that
EOJ woso has the same meaning as WOJ wosoro 'hasty, rash, careless,
thoughtless' (attested in 4.654 and 8.1548): (Takagi et aL 1959: 445), (Kubota
1967: 245-46), (Kojima et aL 1973: 492), (Omodaka 1977.14: 220), (Nakanishi
1981: 277), (Mizushima 1986: 331), (Ito 1997: 522), (Satake et aL 2002: 364),
(Aso 2011: 449). This point of view claims that -ro in wosoro is a 'suffix',
without explaining either its function or its meaning. I think that wosoro in
BOOK FOURTEEN 209
4.654 and 8.1458 can be analyzed as woso 'rash' + ro, copula. 46 Besides most
old commentators with a notable exception of Keichii, see, e.g., Kamochi
(1912.6: 136_37),47 Tsuchiya is the only modern commentator who believes that
EOJ woso is cognate to EMdJ uso 'lie (n.)' (1977.7: 367). Although EOJ initial
wo- can correspond to WOJ initial U-, cf., e.g. WOJ usaNkf 'hare' ~ E01
wosaNkf 'id.' (see 14.3529 below), the problem is that EMdJ uso in the
meaning 'lie' is a very late word. In addition, one may also bring the objection
that the EOJ wo- ~ WOJ u- correspondence implies the pre-OJ *0 > u raising in
WOJ, and consequently pre-WOJ form would be *woso. Meanwhile, EOJ has
otsu-rui vowel 0 in woso, and that implies pre-EOJ *woso. However, one must
not be fooled by E01 orthography. As we have seen throughout this book, EOJ
'misspellings' reflecting the lack of different vowel contrasts found in WOJ are
frequent, and there is no warranty that this is not another of these cases.
Fortunately, we have compelling philological evidence coming from the Nihon
ryoiki as described below:
Romanization
(1) karasu to ip-u (2) opo woso tOri-no (3) koto-wo nome (4) tOmo n-i ip-i-te (5)
saki-N-tat-i-in-uru
Translation
(2) A big lying bird, (1) which [they] call a crow, (3) [you] gave [me your]
word that [wel will be together, (5) [but] departed [from this world] ahead [of
me] (NR 11.2)
The first two lines in this poem are practically identical with the first two lines
of 14.3521, and from the remaining lines it becomes apparent that ~ffif woso
actually means 'lie, lying, liar', but not 'hasty'. Note also that this WOJ text has
ko-rui vowel 0 in the second syllable of -'¥-~ woso. Someone could object,
saying that the Nihon ryoiki is a late text from the early ninth century, and that
consequently, its spelling system may not be reliable. However, this poem
exhibits remarkable spelling conservatism,49 and, therefore, such a possible
objection can be overruled. Therefore, WOJ woso{ro] 'hasty' and WOJ woso
'lie' are two different words, and the interpretation of EOJ woso in 14.3521 as
'lie', which apparently corresponds to WOJ woso 'lie', becomes inescapable.
Japanese scholars who are supporting 'hasty' interpretation are certainly aware
of the existence of this poem in the Nihon ryoiki, but their objections to the
interpretation of woso as 'lie' in this text or of woso in 14.3521, are
unfortunately devoid of any logic or presentation of any evidence: "there is an
explanation ofwoso as 'lie', but it should be explained as 'rush, hasty, careless"
(Takeda 1966[1955]: 397), "it looks like [we] should follow the old explanation
B ('lie' - A.V.), but rather than explaining that the woman reproaches the man
who promised to come, but does not come at all as opo woso tori, and hears
bird's crying koroku as 'dear lad is coming', I followed explanation A" ('hasty'
- A.V.) (Mizushima 1986: 333). Given this level of argumentation on the side
of supporters of 'hasty', the case should be really closed once and for all in
favor of 'lie'. Having said all this, I really do not know whether there is any
connection between WOJ woso ~ EOJ woso 'lie' and MdJ uso 'id.'
Phonologically such a relationship may be rather straightforward (the only
problem being the absence of raising *0 > u in the first syllable of WOJ woso),
but the late provenance of EMdJ usa presents a more serious problem.
On EOJ masaNte n-i 'surely, clearly, really' see the commentary to 14.3374.
EOJ koroku 'caw-caw' is onomatopoeia for crow's cry. It also represents the
play on words (kakekotoba, rolHiiJ) with ko-ro k-u '[your] dear lad is coming',
where k6 'child, girl, lad' is misspelled as ko, but we have seen the same
phenomenon in EOJ above in 14.3361.
On EOJ diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
Romanization
(1) klso koso pa (2) KO-ro-tO sa-ne-sika (3) kumo-no upe-yu (4) nak-l yuk-u
taNtu-no (5) ma-tOpo-ku omop-oy-u
Translation
(2) [I] did sleep together with my dear girl (1) just last night. (5) [But it]
suddenly seems to be very far away, (3/4) like cranes, who fly and cry along the
top of the clouds.
BOOK FOURTEEN 211
Commentary
On OJ kfso 'last night' see the commentary to 14.3505.
On EOJ diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351. This is the
only EOJ feature in this poem.
Lines three and five are hypennetric (jiamari, *~ V) ), but this is probably
just a graphic illusion, since kuma-no upe-yu and ma-topo-ku omap-oy-u were
in all probability pronounced as [kumonopeyu] and [matopokumopoyu].
Ablative -yu has here a prolative function: X-yu 'along X'. For details see
Itabashi (1989).
On OJ taNtu 'crane' see the commentary to 15.3595.
Romanization
(1) saka koye-te (2) ANpe-no ta-no [o]mo-ni (3) wi-ru taNtu-no (4) tOmosi-ki
kimi pa (5) asu sape moNkamo
Translation
(5) I want [you to come] tomorrow as well, (4) [my] lord, who is a rare [guest],
(3) like a crane that sits (2) on the top of the paddy in ANpe, (I) having crossed
over the slope.
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
ANpe is the old name of present-day Shizuoka city (DliiJJm). It was the
place where the provincial seat of government of SuruNka province was located
(Nakanishi 1985: 419). Thus, we can identify this poem as being a poem from
SuruNka province.
On WOJ taNtu 'crane' see the commentary to 15.3595.
*X . Original text
14.3524 (E)
Romanization
(1) ma-woN-komo-no (2) pu-no rna tika-ku-te (3) ap-an-ap-e-Npa (4) old-tu
ma-kamo-no (5) naNkek-i so a-Nka s-uru
Translation
(3) Because [we] do not meet (2) being close [to each other like] spaces
between the meshes (I) of a mat [made from] wild rice, (5) J lament (4) like a
wild duck in the offing.
Commentary
On OJ kama 'wild rice', 'mat made from wild rice' see the commentary to
14.3464.
On specific EOJ order of morphemes -(a)n-ap- 'NEG-ITER' see the
commentary to 14.3375.
OJ kama 50 'wild duck' ('-!®-, Anas) is mostly a migratory bird. In the
Man 'yoshu times wild ducks came to Japan mostly in winter. Nowadays there
are wild ducks that stay in Japan all year round and do not migrate. Males and
females have different feather colors. Wild ducks nest on the rivers and marshes,
although some species do so on the sea. Wild ducks could be hunted as game.
Ma-kamo 'real wild duck' is essentially the same species as kama (Nakanishi
1985: 292).
The last two lines, 'I lament like a wild duck in the offing', may sound funny
in English translation, but there is a reason for this imagery. OJ naNkekf 'lament'
is derived from the combination of naNka 'long' + ikf 'breath'. Wild ducks are
well known for their ability to keep their breath for a long time while diving
(Omodaka 1977.14: 223).
Romanization
(1) Mikuku NO-ni (2) kamo-no pap-o-nosu (3) KO-ro-Nka upe-ni (4) kotO-wo-
ro pape-TE (5) imaNta NE-n-ap-umo
Translation
(4) Having made [my] promises reach (lit.: crawl) (3) to [my] dear girl, (2) like
wild ducks crawling (1) at the field of Mikuku, (5) [I] continue not to sleep with
[her] !
Commentary
Mikuku is probably a placename with unknown location, although there is a
hypothesis that it was located in TitiNpu district (tk:)( IDS) of MuNsasi
province. 51 There is also a hypothesis that Mikuku is not a placename, but a
compound rnf 'water' + kuk-u 'to dive' (lt6 et al. 1991: 370). Another
etymological possibility would be rnf 'water' + EOJ kuku 'stalk', that is 'water
stalks', given the fact that EOJ -u corresponds to WOJ -i' (cf. WOJ kuki' 'stalk').
On OJ karno 'wild duck' see the commentary to 14.3524.
On the EOJ verbal attributive -0 see the commentary to 14.3395 and a brief
description of EOJ special grammar in the introduction.
On EOJ comparative case marker -nosu see the commentary to 14.3413.
On EOJ diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
EOJ kolo-wo 'word-string' implies that words of a love promise are repeated
for a long time.
OJ pape- is a transitive variant of the intransitive pap- 'to crawl'. It has the
meaning 'to stretch, to make crawl', and also 'to make someone know of one's
love intentions' (Omodaka et al. 1967: 590-91).
On the specific EOJ order of morphemes -(a)n-ap- 'NEG-ITER' see the
commentary to 14.3375.
On OJ exclamative form -urno - -rno see the commentary to 15.3595.
14.3526 (E)
*X . Original text
(1) fr;(Jff~3~'W (2) RJ~71t~mfXfg§ (3) :iCfXc~q:g (4) ;(j]~83R*£J:~
(5) *If£J:71tm ~ tfJi
~~ Oyif ~ T L.- • Kana transliteration
(1) 'dd.~bt~0 (2) zpJ: l~"j:~ 2 ~ iJ~T (3) ibiJ~:' 2:' 2.iS 2 (4) bt~~< it.
t2~20)~J:2t2~~~2~
Romanization
(1) numa puta-tu (2) kayop-a tOri-Nka SU (3) a-Nka kokoro (4) puta yuk-unam-
o to (5) na-y-omop-ar-i-so-n-e
Translation
(5) [I] wish [you] are not thinking (3) that my heart (4) would go [to] two
[different places (2) [like] nests of a bird that visits (1) two [different] marshes.
Commentary
Basically in this poem a man assures a woman that he does not have a second
sweetheart, whom he also visits, unlike a bird that can go to two separate nests
in two different marshes.
The -a in kayop-a is a special EOJ attributive (Mizushima 1986: 340), also
attested in 14.3405, 14.3408, 14.3436, and 14.3457. Kupchik (2011: 696-697)
proposed an alternative analysis of the first two lines:
*::t
(1)
. Original text
14.3527 (E)
~61J\~JP8 (2) -'¥-1JD-eJ:JJ~cg (3) illtcPIH:¥1J (4) 1Jtfi::H>'J-.1Jt:t-,¥-
(5) ~fi:;:g fi:~ PI ffl:
Romanization
(1) oki-ni sum-o (2) wo-kama-na mokara (3) ya saka-N-tOri (4) ikiNtuk-u imo-
wo (5) ok-i-te k-i-n-o kama
BOOK FOURTEEN 215
Translation
(5) [I] came [here] leaving behind (4) [my] beloved, who sighs (2) like a small
wild duck (1) that lives in the offing, (3) a bird with [breaths as long as] eight
saka!
Commentary
This poem looks like a poem composed by a border guard (sakimari, Il1JA), and
it was treated as such in all old commentaries, although some modem scholars
raise their doubts based on a very impressionistic discussion (Tsuchiya 1977.7:
372), (Mizushima 1986: 342-43). Together with the following 14.3528 it
constitutes a two-poem Sakimori mini-sequence.
On the EOJ verbal attributive -a see the commentary to 14.3395 and a brief
description of EOJ special grammar in the introduction.
On OJ kama 'wild duck' see the commentary to 14.3524.
According to Nakanishi's opinion, OJ wo-kama 'DIM-wild.duck' may be
just an endearment form that does not mean 'small wild duck' (1985: 292).
Unfortunately, the evidence is inconclusive for either a diminutive or an
endearment hypothesis.
OJ mokoro is a postposition meaning 'like'. It occurs extremely rarely in the
OJ texts. For details see Vovin (2009a: 1297-298).
OJ saka (R) equals 0.32 m or roughly one foot.
Ya saka-N-tori '.a bird with [breaths as 10E~ as] eight saka: ~s considere~ to
be a permanent epIthet (makura-kotoba, ttJiP]) for the verb lkiNtuk- 'to SIgh'
(Omodaka 1977.14: 225), (Mizushima 1986: 342), but since the metaphor is
quite clear, and since it is quite clear that a bird is mentioned here, 1 believe it is
possible to incorporate it into the translation. This is a similar metaphor to the
one found in 14.3524 above: the ability of a wild duck to hold a long breath is
compared to the intensity of lamenting or sighing of a human being.
On EOJ perfective attributive -n-a see the commentary to 14.3395.
Romanization
(1) MlNtu tOri-no (2) tat-am-u yosop-i n-i (3) imo-no-ra-ni (4) mono ip-aNs-u
k-i-n-i-te (5) omop-i-kane-t-umo
216 MAN'Y0SHD
Translation
(5) [I] cannot bear the thought (4) [that I] have come here without saying good-
bye (3) to [my] dear wives (2) because of preparations [for my] departure/tlying
away (1) like a water fowl!
Commentary
This poem looks like a poem composed by a border guard (sakimori, ~A), and
it constitutes together with the previous 14.3527 a poetic mini-sequence.
MiNtu tori-no 'like a water fowl' is considered to be a permanent epithet
(makura-kotoba, f;t ~P]), but the imagery is quite transparent: the author's
departure is as sudden as the rising of a scared water fowl into the air.
On EOJ diminutive suffix -no see the commentary to 14.3402.
EOJ imo-no-ra-ni 'to my dear wives' is an interesting form. 1 take the suffix
-ra here to be the plural marker, not the diminutive, because in Azuma texts
diminutive -ra occurs only in three cases, all of them after the word ko 'girl,
child', and in two cases out of three in texts written in WOJ (Vovin 2005: 209).
If -ra is a plural form, then this is a unique OJ example that gives us a
combination of a diminutive, a plural, and a case marker in the same word form,
and we can conclude on the basis of this example that the order was DIM-
PLUR-CASE. Practically all examples we know of include only the
combinations of DIM-CASE and PLUR-CASE, with two cases of DIM-DIM-
CASE in 14.3446 and 14.3544. This linguistic example also provides us with
important cultural evidence for the existence of polygamy, not only in the upper,
but also in the lower classes.
The fourth line is hypermetric (jiamari, *~ f')).
On OJ exclamative form -umo ~ -mo see the commentary to 15.3595.
In the Nishi Honganji-bon and the KishU-bon f.1~ ~ J::l: PI tfJiW ~ omop-i-
kane-t-umo is spelled as f.1~~J::l:PItfJiW£t omop-i-kane-t-umo. Although omop-
i-kane-t-umo is etymologically correct, I leave the spelling omop-i-kane-t-umo
found in the oldest manuscripts.
Romanization
(1) Toya-no NO-ni (2) wosaNki nerap-ar-i (3) wosa-wosa mo (4) ne-n-ape ko
yuwe n-i (5) papa-ni kor-op-aye
BOOK FOURTEEN 217
Translation
(4) Because of the girl with whom [I] am not sleeping (3) enough, (2) watching
for hares (1) in Toya field, (5) [I] am scolded by [her] mother, and...
Commentary
Toya is considered to be a placename, with its location unknown. However, old
commentaries 52 identify it with Toya village C~9'2:~) in InaNpa district (!=p~m
W) of Simotupusa province, the latter corresponding to Inaba county (!=P~W)
of present-day Chiba prefecture (Omodaka 1977.14: 226), (Nakanishi 1985:
467), (Mizushima 1986: 344). If this identification is correct, then this poem can
be identified as a poem from Simotupusa province. 53 If we dispense with the
speculation that Toya C~9'2:) is a contraction of tori 'bird' and ya 'arrow', then
this p1acename is meaningless in OJ. Not so in Ainu, where toya means 'lake
shore' < to 'lake' + ya 'shore, dry land'. It is worh mentioning that there was a
big lake in the north of InaNpa district.
EOJ wosaNkf 'hare' corresponding to WOJ usaNkf is an important word,
because it demonstrates that in proto-Japonic this word started with *w- and had
*0, not *u in the first syllable. Cf. also a peninsular Japonic form attested in the
pseudo-Koguryo placenames as *oseyam (,~Wf~) 'hare' (SKSK 35.4b, 37.4a).
EOJ wosaNkf ~ WOJ usaNkf 'hare' is a general term for various types of hares
constituting the hare family (Leporidae, '7 1j- ~ f-I-). Hares are herbivorous
animals, with long pointed ears, and yellowish fur. The biggest type, yabu no
usagi 'bush hare' reaches 50-76 cm in length. Hares live in fields and can run
very fast. At night they can go to village fields and damage crops. Hares are
game animals, and both their meat and fur skins are used by humans. In
addition, writing brushes were made from hare's fur in the Asuka and Nara
periods.
On the EOJ progressive suffix -ar- corresponding to WOJ -er- see the
commentary to 14.3351.
EOJ wosa-wosa 'enough' is a hapax legomenon in OJ, but there are plenty of
attestations in MJ. The following verb is always in the negative form (Omodaka
et al. 1967: 833).
On specific EOJ order of morphemes -(a)n-ap- 'NEG-ITER' see the
commentary to 14.3375.
EOJ iterative suffix -ape- is a variant of -ap-, and corresponds to WOJ -ape-,
which is also a variant of -ap-. For details see Vovin (2009a: 820).
On the adnominal function of the infinitive form in EOJ see the commentary
to 14.3415.
OJ iterative -op- is a phonetic variant of -ap-, found after certain stems
containing vowels 101 and lui (Vovin 2009a: 820-21).
Romanization
(1) sa-~o-siKA-no (2) pus-u ya kusa mura (3) MI-ye-Ns-u Wmo (4) KO-ro-Nka
kana-TO-yo (5) yuk-aku si ye-si-mo
Translation
(3) Even though [I] do not see [her] (1) like a male deer (3) lying in the clump
of grass, (5) it is good to go [inside] (4) through [my] dear girl's metal adorned
gate!
Commentary
This is probably one of the most sexually explicit and sexually graphic OJ
poems. Besides the upper layer, which is rendered in the translation, there is
very likely another layer, which was noticed by Goto Toshio (:f&nifljQ$) in his
Azuma uta nanka k6 OIUIUiUlx ~) 'A commentary on difficult Eastern
poems,:54 "Although I do not see her vulva hidden in her pubic hair (kusa mura),
like one does not see a male deer lying in the clump of grass (kusa mura), I feel
good going inside her through my dear girl's precious gate (=vulva)." Although
Mizushima rather emphatically disagrees with this interpretation (1986: 347), it
is more than likely, cf. also a reference to vulva as 'jade gate' (3£r~). OJ kana-
ta 'metal adorned gate' certainly was precious gate as well. Without mentioning
GotO's name, Ito refers to his explanation as 'indecent' (~:b c!::"v \) (1997: 532).
Other modem commentators pass Goto's theory in silence and discuss only the
first layer of this poem.
On OJ sika 'deer' see the commentary to 15.3674. It is interesting that OJ ka
also means 'deer', cf. also OJ ka-ka 'fawn' (lit. 'deer-child'), me-ka 'female
deer'. This points to the analysis of sika 'deer' as a compound si-ka, where -ka
means 'deer'. What could the first element si- mean? I think that the word sisi
'meat, flesh, game animals' (see 14.3531 below) could be a reduplication si-si.
Since OJ sisi 'game animals' could be used to include both deer and wild boars
at the same time, such an interpretation is more than probable. Then si- in si-ka
may mean 'meat'. Then OJ ka probably was a generic term for a deer, while OJ
si-ka 'meat-deer' might have indicated 'deer as a game animal'. It is necessary
to conduct separate research to see whether such identification can be supported
by textual evidence.
14.3531 (E)
*X . Original text
(1) fjt£3:->¥-~q:~ (2) *!t~1)\~q:}i~PiJ (3) R*W\~~2f~ (4) -9-~H1lR*~g~
(5) ,~,Z*~JtlJ~£3:~mE
Romanization
(1) imo-wo koso (2) api-mi-ni ko-sika (3) mayo-N-pik-i-no (4) yoko yama pe-
ro-no (5) sisi-nasu omop-er-u
Translation
(1) [I] did come to meet (2) with [my] beloved. (5) [But her parents] are
thinking [of me] like [of] a game animal (4) from the mountains [stretched]
horizontally (3) like painted eyebrows.
Commentary
Note the irregular past tense evidential form ko-sika 'I did come'. For the
details on irregular past tense forms see Vovin (2009a: 920).
OJ mayo-N-pfk-f is 'painted eyebrows' (lit.: 'eyebrow drawing'). On OJ
mayo 'eyebrow' see the commentary to 5.804.
OJ expression yoko yama 'horizontally [stretched] mountains' indicates the
mountain chain that goes relatively evenly, without any dominating peaks
suddenly protruding in the middle. Tateyama (lz:I1J) mountain chain in Eastern
Toyama is a good example ofyoko yama.
On EOJ diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
OJ sisi 'game animal' refers to both deer and wild boars, either separately, or
jointly. Thus, it can mean 'game deer', 'game wild boar', or 'deer and wild
boars as game animals'. The original meaning of sisi appears to be 'flesh, meat',
but the word itself is likely to be a reduplication. See the commentary to
14.3530 above.
OJ comparative case marker -nasu occurs mostly in WOJ, but there are also
attestations in EOJ (Vovin 2009a: 200).
Romanization
(1) paru-no NO-ni (2) kusa pam-u koma-n6 (3) kuti yam-aNs-u (4) a-wo sinop-
uram-u (5) ipe-no KO-ro pa mo
Translation
(5) Ah, [my] dear girl from home, (4) who probably longs for me (3) without
stopping [like] the mouth (2) ofa stallion eating grass (1) in a spring field.
Commentary
Besides this interpretation, Japanese commentators also add a parallel one: 'my
dear girl who probably longs for me talking [about me] all the time like a
stallion who eats grass does not stop its mouth' (Omodaka 1977.14: 229),
(Mizushima 1986: 348-49). However, this is difficult to accept as such, because
OJ yam- 'to stop' is an intransitive verb (its transitive counterpart is OJ yame-).
Therefore, kuti yamaNsu does not mean 'not to stop one's mouth', but 'one's
mouth does not stop'. The parallel interpretation then can be: 'my dear girl who
probably longs for me without her mouth stopping like a stallion who eats
grass'. Depending on the interpretation, case marker -no after kama 'stallion'
can be interpreted either as a genitive or as a comparative case marker.
Consequently the metaphoric poetic introduction in this poem (hiyuteki jo, ltllJf<\
1¥Jff:) can be limited to the first two lines (if the comparison is made with the
stallion), or it can be extended, including the word kuti 'mouth' in the third line
(if the comparison is made with the mouth of the stallion).
On OJ pam- 'to eat' see the commentary to 5.802.
On OJ kama 'stallion' see the commentary to 14.3387.
On EOJ diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351. This is the
only EOJ feature in this poem, otherwise it looks as if written in WOJ.
BOOK FOURTEEN 221
Translation
(2) When [I] miss (1) [that] person's daughter, (5) [I] have no sorry feelings (4)
for [my] stallion that will hurt [its] legs (3) [walking unsteadily like] birds on a
shore sandbar.
Commentary
On OJ pita-no ka 'person's child' or 'person's girl' see the commentary to
14.3500.
On EOJ attributive -ke in kanasi-ke see the commentary to 14.3412.
On EOJ siNta 'time' see the commentary to 14.3363.
OJ su is 'sandbar' or 'sandbank' (Omodaka et al. 1967: 378).
OJ pama su-N-tori "birds on a shore sandbar' is considered to be a
permanent epithet (makura-kotoba, tt~iij) for the word a 'foot, leg', because the
birds that live on sandbars are considered to walk unsteadily on their legs.
These birds probably are some type of plovers (chidori, T,~) (Mizushima
1986: 350-51).
On EOJ a 'foot, leg' see the commentary to 14.3387.
EOJ nayum- 'to suffer' corresponds to WOJ nayam- 'id.' EOJ nayum- is a
hapax legomenon.
On OJ kama 'stallion' see the commentary to 14.3387.
On the OJ adjectival norninalized form -keku (which is essentially WOJ
form, the real EOJ form being -k-aku) see the commentary to 15.3694.
14.3534 (W)
*Jt
(1)
. Original text
*PJi!i)H~~(2) PJ1t"3-,¥-,~,t'\)k (3) fjt"3PJ~1]\ (4) tJtZ-'¥-~~"3,~,
(5) {jt~Ii~~.EUJ~f,J:
.f&~ (f)fi~ r
0 . Kana transliteration
(1) ,~iJ~~' 1 "1 iJ~ (2) iJ~~' 1 C' ~ 0/)/) (3) v\C'iJ~-C I.: (4) it L ~Jj. 1 t::-C
0(5) v\" I (J) 2:' I Glit 2
Romanization
(1) aka-N-kama-Nk,il (2) kaNta-[i]Nte s-i-tutu (3) iNte-kate-n-i (4) se-si-wo MI-
tate-si (5) ipe-no KO-ra pa mo
222 MAN'yOSHU
Translation
(5) Ab, [my] dear girl from home, (1/3/4) who saw [me] off, [seeing that my]
chestnut stallion could not go out (2) while going through the gate.
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
On OJ kama 'stallion' see the commentary to 14.3387.
OJ aka-N-kama lit. 'red stallion' is 'chestnut stallion' or 'brown stallion'.
On the etymology of OJ kaNto 'gate' see the commentary to 14.3530.
OJ mf-tate- means 'to see off, lit. 'to see and make smbd. depart'.
Romanization
(1) ono-Nka wo-wo (2) opo n-i na-omop-i-so (3) nipa-ni tat-i (4) wem-as-u-Nka
karani (5) koma-ni ap-u monowo
Translation
(2) Do not think carelessly (1) about your own [life-]cord (3/4) as soon as [you]
stand in the garden and laugh, (5) [you] will meet [his] stallion, but ...
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
OJ wo 'string, cord' here implies tama-no wo 'cord of jewels' that can be
used as a metaphor for' life' .
Line two is hypermetric (jiamari, *~ VJ ), but this is probably just a graphic
illusion, since na-omop-f-so was in all probability pronounced as [namopiso].
OJ karani is a conjunction 'just because', 'as soon as'. For details see Vovin
(2009a: 1151-54).
On OJ kama 'stallion' see the commentary to 14.3387.
A woman probably wants to commit suicide, since her lover stopped coming
to visit her. The third person advises her not to take her life so lightly. Slhe
further offers the advice that the woman should stand in her garden and laugh --
BOOK FOURTEEN 223
then her lover will return riding his stallion. The last three lines could be an OJ
proverb (Mizushima 1986: 354).
Romanization
(1) aka-N-koma-wo (2) ut-i-te sa-wo-N-pik-i (3) kokoro-N-pik-i (4) ika nar-u
se-na ka (5) wa-Nkari ko-m-u to ip-u
Translation
(4) What kind of beloved is [he], (5) who says that [he] will come to me, (3)
reining in [my] heart, (2) [like] reining in and hitting [with a whip] (1) [his]
chestnut stallion?
Commentary
On OJ kama 'stallion' see the commentary to 14.3387.
OJ aka-N-kama 'chestnut stallion' see the commentary to 14.3534.
EOJ wo 'cord, string' here refers to horse reins.
On EOJ diminutive suffix -na see the commentary to 14.3384.
On OJ directive case marker -Nkari see the commentary to 14.3356.
14.3537 (E)
*Jt . Original text
(1) ~~i5}j~1}\ ~2! jtfi~jtl!J~,~1m (3) ~~4 41}\ (4) *!:tj!~~'&~
(5) ~~1}\iiJ~,~,-a
Romanization
(1) lqIpe-N-kos-i-ni (2) muNki pam-u ko-uMA-no (3) pam-pam n-i (4) api-MI-
si KO-ra si (5) aya n-i kanasi-mo
Translation
(3/4) [My] dear girl with whom [I] barely met, (2) [like] a little horse [that can
barely] eat barley (1) when [it] makes [its neck] crane over a fence, (5) is
extremely dear [to me]!
Commentary
The first two lines are a metaphoric introduction (hiyuteki )0, .l:tlltftil¥Jff:) to the
rest of the poem (Omodaka 1977.14: 233), (Mizushima 1986: 357).
Kupe is usually considered to be an EOJ hapax legomenon meaning 'fence'
or 'pasture fence'. Omodaka et al. notice that in Uwajima region ('=PfD~±I!!j])
of present-day Ehime prefecture there is the word kube 'fence' (1967: 268). It is,
however, unclear what relevance a North-Western Shikoku dialect word might
have for establishing the EOJ nature of kupe. Although there are no other
distinctive EOJ features in this poem, I tentatively assume on lexical grounds
that it is written in EOJ.
OJ muNkf could refer to either wheat (komugi, IJ\~) or barley (omugi, *~).
Since in the Man 'yoshu OJ muNkf is attested exclusively in the context muNki
pam-u k6-uma/k6ma 'stallion/little horse that eats muNkf' (12.3096, 14.3537,
14.3537a), I translate it as 'barley', which was a favorite staple of horses.
Consequently, it is easy to imagine a horse that cranes its neck to get some of
barley growing outside of the pasture fence. Both barley and wheat were
planted in dry fields. There were annual and biennial varieties of muNki, and it
was included in the 'five cereals' (11. ~). On the 'five cereals' see the
commentary to 14.3451.
Presumably k6-uma is this poem is just 'little horse', and not the protoform
*ka-uma of k6ma 'stallion'. On OJ k6ma 'stallion' see the commentary to
14.3387.
Line two is hypermetric (jiamari, *~ I) ), but this is probably just a graphic
illusion, since k6-uma was in all probability pronounced as [kama], overlapping
phonetically with k6ma 'stallion'.
Commentary
We do not know what the book mentioned above is. The variant follows below
as 14.3537a.
BOOK FOURTEEN 225
Romanization
(1) uma-se-N-kos-i (2) muNki pam-u koma-no (3) patu-patu n-i (4) nipi paNta
pure-si (5) ko-ro si kanasi-mo
Translation
(3/4/5) [My] dear girl whose skin [I] barely touched for the first time, (2) [like]
a stallion [that can barely] eat barley (1) when [it] makes [its neck] crane over a
fence, (5)is extremely dear [to me]!
Commentary
Similar to 14.3537, the first two lines are a metaphoric introduction (hiyuteki jo,
J:t~l¥JJ¥) to the rest of the poem.
OJ uma-se is supposed to mean either 'fence' or 'pasture fence'. Mizushima
notes that in modem dialects of Nagano, Ibaraki, and Yamanashi prefectures
words mase or masenbo denote the horizontal bar that blocks the entrance to a
stable, preventing a horse from getting out. However, if OJ uma-se meant this
kind of a bar, then it would imply that barley is the food given to the horse. The
context of this poem, however, implies that the stallion is getting some extra
food that is not given to it (1986: 357). OJ -se in uma-se is not attested
independently.
The expression nipf paNta pure- 'to touch new skin' implies that the author
slept with his beloved for the first time.
On EOJ diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351. This is the
only EOJ feature in this poem, otherwise it looks as if written in WOJ.
14.3538 (E)
*X
(1)
. Original text
J;t§dEtz~ (2) *,~t1,~,t\(;tfJ\5. (3) 2~fgflli* (4) {J3"-f,J:t\(;J:!11tlElOj
(5) fQiBl2~HJ\,~,7(
Romanization
(1) piro pasi-wo (2) uma kos-i-Nkane-te (3) kokoro nom} (4) imo-Nkari yar-i-te
(5) wa pa koko-ni s-i-te
Translation
(2) Failing to make [my] horse cross (1) the oak bridge, (5) I stay here, (3/4)
sending just [my] heart to [my] beloved.
Commentary
OJ pfro in line one is usually interpreted as pfro 'wide', but the obvious
problem that has been noted by all commentators is a semantic contradiction:
why the rider cannot make his horse cross a wide bridge? Logically it should
have been a narrow bridge that a horse would hesitate to cross. Takeda
proposed that what is meant here is a bridge across a wide river (1966: 411).
This explanation is also accepted by Omodaka (1977.14: 234). This is possible,
but it remains unclear what the width of the river has to do with horse's fear.
Mizushima follows the explanation by Kubota, who believes that the bridge is
indeed wide, but it is the rider who fails to cross it, as he does not want to be
seen going to his beloved (Kubota 1967: 256), (Mizushima 1986: 359). This is
clearly an ad hoc theory, with no textual evidence to support it. There are also
other explanations mentioned by Mizushima, but all of them violate either
phonology or semantics, like, e.g. one that explains piro pasi as 'fathom bridge'.
Piro 'fathom' is, of course, a measure of depth, not of width. There is, however,
another possibility. I believe EOJ pfro here is a loanword fro~ Ainu pero or
pero-ni5 'a kind of oak', the same tree as MdJ mizunara ( :::: /< T 7, Quercus
crispula) (Chiri 1976: 176-77), (Kayano 1996: 405). Its wood is known for its
hardness, and is widely used in construction and manufacturing of tools. The
vowel fin EOJ pfro 'oak' vs. Ainu pero 'id.' is easily explained as a result of
OJ vowel raising: PJ *e > OJ f. Thus, EOJ pfro pasi is an 'oak bridge', quite
possible just made out of two-to-four logs, on which a horse would be hesitant
to step.
Negative potential auxiliary Nkane- is a rare phonetic variant of OJ kane-,
with a secondary nasalization and voicing.
On OJ directive case marker -Nkari see the commentary to 14.3356.
The usage of an unextended stem wa 'I' in isolation is a distinctive EOJ
feature. Such a usage does not occur in WOJ (Vovin 2005: 220-21,226).
*X . Original text
Postscript to the poem 14.3538
~*~~~B~~~Z~~*~~ft~~
Translation
In a certain book the beginning stanza [of a variant of this poem] says: (1) wo-
payasi-ni (2) k6ma-wo pasasaNke '[I] made [my] stallion run into a small
forest'.
Commentary
We do not know what the book mentioned above is. The variant with a different
beginning stanza (lines one and two) follows below as 14.3538a.
14.3538a (E)
*::t
(1)
. Original text
~~;&z7j\ (2) c!J1#~~ft:~l'l (3) c~q:g flli* (4) fjI-efU!I!;&.m s
(5) fQ~c~q:7j\}i!J7(
fBt~ Oyfj ~ -r
L- • Kana transliteration
(1) ~ l'i~ 1..-~;: (2) =- 1 ~ ~ ~'i ~ ~ ~j' 2 (3) =- 2 =- 2 0 20) 2 J.;.. 2 (4) ,,\ t 2 iJ~
IJ ~ IJ -C (5) ::bl'i =- 2 =- 21;: 1..- -C 2
Romanization
(1) wo-payasi-ni (2) koma-wo pasasaNke (3) kokoro nom. (4) imo-Nkari yar-i-
te (5) wa pa koko-ni s-i-te
Translation
(2) [I] have made my stallion run into (1) a small forest, (5) [so] 1 stay here, (3/4)
sending just [my] heart to [my] beloved.
Commentary
EOJ pasasaNke- is a hapax legomenon that is believed to mean 'to make
[someone/something] run into', consisting of pase- 'to make run', causative
suffix -ase-, and auxiliary -aNke-, indicating that the movement is directed
upwards (Omodaka et al. 1967: 575).
It remains unclear why the man makes his stallion run into the forest.
Mizushima believes that this demonstrates that the man is making an excuse not
to visit his beloved (1986: 359-60). Kojima et al. speculate that EOJ pasasaNke-
means 'to hurt' (1973: 496). Either of them might be right, but there is no
textual or linguistic evidence to support their hypotheses.
On OJ directive case marker -Nkari see the commentary to 14.3356.
On the usage of an unextended stem wa 'I' in isolation see the commentary
to 14.3538.
14.3539 (E)
*::t
(1)
. Original text(2)
~~fj~,¥~7j\ c!J,~~W~{~s (3) ~;&~rpJ~ (4) l::1::~RI#c!Jg~
(5) fjl-s7j\fQfJt;J{i5fE
Romanization
(1) aNsu-no upe-ni (2) koma-wo tunaNk-i-te (3) ayapo-ka-NtO (4) pito-N-tuma
ko-ro-wo (5) ik-i n-i wa-Nka s-uru
228 MAN'yOsHD
Translation
(3) Although [it] is [as] dangerous (2) [as] tying the stallion (1) to the top of the
crumbling cliff, (5) I will risk [my] life (4) for [my] dear girl, [who is] the wife
of [another] man.
Commentary
Line one is hypermetric (jiamari, *~ I)), but this is probably just a graphic
illusion, since no upe was in all probability pronounced as [nope).
EOJ aNsu 'crumbling cliff (see also 14.3541 below) is not attested in WOJ.
A possible etymology is Hokkaid6 Ainu yas-, Sakhalin Ainu nas- ' to split,S7
(Hattori 1964: 136) + so 'rocky shore', 'hidden rocks in the sea' (Chiri 1956:
125-26), (Kayano 1996: 288). Tentative Ainu *as-so 'splitting rock' > EOJ
aNsu involves expected EOJ raising of PJ *0 > u in the last syllable, cf. EOJ
kumu 'cloud' ~ WOJ kuma 'id.' If this etymology is correct, EOJ -Ns- can be
explained as a secondary nasalization.
EOJ upe 'top' corresponds to WOJ upe 'id.' This spelling probably indicates
that the contrast between e and e was lost in the EOJ dialect underlying this
poem.
EOJ ayapo- 'to be dangerous' corresponds to MJ ayapu- 'id.' (OJ form is not
attested). EOJ ayapo- preserves the original vowel 0, which is raised to u in the
MJ form.
On EOJ diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
On EOJ inflected adjectival evidential marker -ka- see the commentary to
14.3473.
(1)
. Original text
14.3540 (E)
*X h::fD~~~ (2) ~5MJ\{jtS31.t~l::t (3) ~PTi!ij(Jff:fJG (4) ~:fJG1.t-'¥-r&~~
(5) ~q:~~r&)t1.tfr~
Romanization
(1) Sawatari-no (2) TENKO-ni i-yuk-i ap-i (3) aka-N-k6ma-Nka (4) aNkaki-wo
paya-mi (5) kotOt6p-aNs-u k-i-n-u
Translation
(1/2) [1] went to the maiden in Sawatari and met [her], (3/4) [but] because the
gallop of [my] chestnut stallion was fast, (5) [1] came back without talking [to
her].
Commentary
Sawatari is a placename, but its exact location is unknown. It is alternatively
identified as: (a) Sawatari hot S£!ings (iRi&7.1ii1.~) in Nakanojo town (epZ~
BIT) in .A~at,s~a cou~ty (B- ~,,!) in prest:nt-d~y Gunma ~refecture, (b)
Sawatan (iR~) In Tokiwa town (r'f,~BIT) ofMIto CIty (7kFm) In present-day
Ibaraki prefecture, (c) Miwa town (=fDBIT), formerly Sawatari village (iR~H)
ofIwaki city (It \b~ m) in present-day Fukushima prefecture (Nakanishi 1985:
450-51), (Mizushima 1986: 361).
),
Line two is hypeI1l!etric (jiamari, *~ ~ but this is probably just a graphic
illusiol!, since teNKO-ni i-yuk-f ap-f was in all probability pronounced as
[teNKOniyukiapi] or [teNKOniiyukapi].
On EOJ teNka 'maiden' see the commentary to 14.3384. The EOJ linguistic
nature of this poem can only be established lexically on the basis of this word.
Prefix i- is a marker of a directive-locative focus. For details see Vovin
(2009a: 561-68).
On OJ kama 'stallion' see the commentary to 14.3387.
OJ aka-N-k6ma 'chestnut stallion' see the commentary to 14.3534.
OJ aNkaki 'gallop' has a transparent etymology a 'foot, leg' + n[6], genitive
case marker + kak-f 'scratching', i.e. 'scratching [the ground surface] with legs'
(Omodaka et al. 1967: 2).
On the OJ verb k6t6t6p- see the commentary to 14.3510.
Some modem commentators believe that the man meets the maiden from
Sawatari by chance (Mizushima 1986: 361-62), (Ito 1997: 547), (Aso 2011: 465,
467), but this is contradicted by the directive-locative verbal prefix i- that
clearly demonstrates that the going and meeting was on purpose. Thus, the man
had enough courage to go for a date with the maiden from Sawatari, but did not
have the guts to talk with her and/or to talk her into going to bed. 58 When asked
about the outcome of his experience, he put the blame on the speed of his
stallion.
58Tsuchiya believes that kOt6t6p- in this particular case indicates sexual relationship (1977.7:
383).
230 MAN'Y0SHO
Romanization
(1) aNsu pe-kara (2) kama-no yuk-a-nosu (3) ayapa tamo (4) pitO-N-tuma ka-
ro-wo (5) ma-yuk-ase-[a]r-ap-u-mo
Translation
(3) Even though [it] is as dangerous (2) as a stallion's going (1) through the
vicinity of a crumbling cliff, (5) [I] let [my] eyes wander continuously over (4)
the girl [who is] the wife of [another] man!
Commentary
On EOJ aNsu 'crumbling cliff see the commentary to 14.3539.
EOJ spelling pe 'side' corresponds to WOJ pe 'id.', probably indicating that
the contrast between e and e did not exist in the EOJ dialect underlying this
poem.
OJ -kara is an ablative case marker, here used in its prolative function
(Omodaka 1977.14: 236).
On OJ koma 'stallion' see the commentary to 14.3387.
On the EOJ verbal attributive -0 see the commentary to 14.3395 and a brief
description of EOJ special grammar in the introduction.
On EOJ comparative case marker -nasu see the commentary to 14.3413.
The ayapa tomo in the third line can be analyzed only tentatively, as this
form is a hapax legomenon. We have seen EOJ ayapo- 'be dangerous' in
14.3539. The form ayapa tomo here looks like an uninflected adjective ayapa
followed by the conjunction tomo (cf. WOJ tama) 'even though, even if, with
ayapa derived from ayapo by progressive assimilation. This analysis is not the
only possible now. One alternative would be to see otherwise unattested
consonantal verb ayap- with attributive in -a (see 14.3526), followed by the
conjunction tama, but the problem is that the conjunction tama follows the final
and not attributive form of verbs. Another alternative would be to analyze this
form as ayap-a-Ntama 'be.dangerous-EV-CONC', but there are two problems
with this analysis as well. First, there are no cases in the Man 'yoshii when the
character 7J is used for a syllable INto/ or INtO/ with an initial prenasalized
voiced INti. Second, EOJ a can correspond to WOJ e, as for example EOJ -kar-
vs. WOJ -ker- or EOJ -ar- vs. WOJ -er-, but the correspondence of EOJ -a- to
WOJ -e- in evidential forms of verbs is not attested. Thus, the first suggested
analysis seems to be better off than the other two alternatives.
On EOJ diminutive suffix -ra see the commentary to 14.3351.
Omodaka after a rigorous analysis of various proposals comes to the
conclusion that the last line is not analyzable and abstains from providing its
translation into modern Japanese (1977.14: 236-37). The last line is indeed
difficult to interpret, and there are practically as many hypotheses concerning its
analysis as there are commentators. Since I cannot agree with any of them for
various reasons, mostly of those concerning ungrammaticality, 1 propose my
own here.
BOOK FOURTEEN 231
In Eastern Old Japanese the iterative -ap- follows progressive -[aJr- unlike
Western Old Japanese where the iterative -ap- precedes progressive -er-.
14.3542 (W)
*X
(1)
. Original text(2)
fti:M*L1j3-,~3J\ tl,~3JLiBlfti:iit"3 (3) c~tg{j3-~~ (4) *:fX=§:ffi"{j3-=§
:fX (5) {j3-~~*~m ~~
{Ji~ O).~ r 1..- • Kana transliteration
(1) ~ ~':hv \ L- f~ (2) :. I "1 ~ fj: ~ -tt-C (3) :. 2 :. 2 -5 2 v\t~J.j. 1 (4) }YiJ~ 'b
1 b v\ t 1 iJ~ (5) V \.r-... 10) 2 '&-J t~ ~ tJ~ 'b
Romanization
(1) saNsare.isi-ni (2) k6ma-wo pas-ase-te (3) kokoro ita-mt (4) a-Nka [0]m6p-u
im6-Nka (5) ipe-no atari kamo
Translation
(2) Making [my] stallion run (1) over pebbles, (3) my heart aches, therefore (5)
I wonder whether [this is] the vicinity of the house (4) of my beloved about
whom I think [with love].
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
Lines one and three are hypermetric (jiamari, ~~ ~ ), but in the case of line
one this is probably just a graphic illusion, since saNsare.isi was in all
probability pronounced as [saNsaresi], cf. saNsaresi in 14.3400. The phonetic
contraction is much less likely in the case of kokoro itami, since neither
[kokoritami] or [kokorotamt] are attested.
On OJ kama 'stallion' see the commentary to 14.3387.
On saNsare.isi 'pebble' see the commentary to 14.3400.
This is a poem difficult to translate, because kokoro ita- 'heart aches' in line
three is connected to both two lines above and two lines below. In other words,
the author's heart aches not only because he thinks that he is in the vicinity of
his beloved' house, but also because he makes his stallion run over the pebbles.
232 MAN'Y0SHU
Romanization
(1) mur6-N-kaya-no (2) Turn-no tutumi-no (3) nar-i-n-u Nkani (4) k6-ro pa ip-
e-Ntomo (5) imaNta ne-n-aku n-i
Translation
(4) Although [my] dear girl says that [our relationship is established solidly]
(2/3) like the dam that is established on the Turn [river], (1) [where] thatch
grass for houses [grows], (5) [we] have not yet slept together.
Commentary
On OJ muro 'room, house' see the commentary to 14.3506.
On OJ kaya 'kaya grass' see the commentary to 14.3497.
The first line muro-N-kaya-no is supposed to be a permanent epithet
(makura-kotoba, tt ~i'i]) (Mizushima 1986: 366), but to the best of my
knowledge this 'makura-kotoba' occurs only in this poem, so there is nothing
'permanent' about it.
The location of Turn [river] and especial1y the location of a dam on it is not
known, although it is possible that Tsurn river (t~) II) in Uenohara town (Lft
JJj( lIlT) of Northern Tsurn county (~t i3 iHtfS) in present-day Yamanashi
prefecture corresponds to Turn in this poem (Nakanishi 1985: 465).
OJ Nkani is a conjunction 'like, as if, so what' that fol1ows the final form of
verbs. For more examples of usage see Vovin (2009a: ] ]49-50).
On EOJ diminutive suffIx -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
EOJ ip-e-Ntomo 'although [she] says' with the evidential form spel1ed with e
instead of etymological1y correct e (cf. WOJ ip-e-Ntomo) is the only other
feature in addition to diminutive suffix -ro that allows us to classify this poem
as written in EOJ.
14.3544 (E)
*X
(1)
. Original text
(2) Z:$1j-QttLfB-ijL (3)
~iiJ;lPJ(PJrB z~~ii!t7( (4) ~~'Hm~;ffJ:$JI!.
(5) ft fEl ffiJ ~ -tb)i!H~
r
L- • Kana transliteration
-r L- -c (4) 1t it it <!:: 2},-' t:.JJ
fl.[~ O).~
(1) lb-t7J~iMi (2) LJ: f~::' 2:(L -5 ~ (3) L- G
(5) 2: P -c <
~ L- t 2
Romanization
(1) Asuka-N-KApa (2) sita niNkor-er-u-wo (3) sir-aNs-u s-i-te (4) se-na-na-tO
puta-ri (5) sa-NE-TE kuyasi-mo
Translation
(4/5) [I] regret that [I] slept with you, (3) not knowing (2) that [the bottom of
your heart] is [as] muddy [as] the bottom (1) of Asuka river!
Commentary
Together with the following 14.3545 this poem constitutes a poetic mlDl-
sequence, since both mention Asuka river.
Opinions differ whether this is the same river as the famous Asuka river that
flows through Asuka plain in YamatO (Nakanishi 1985: 416). Omodaka is
inclined to see this as an unidentified river in the East that has the same name
(1977.14: 239-40). Mizushima is ofthe same opinion, although he painstakingly
lists all the theories, some of them quite fantastic (1986: 368). I follow
Omodaka and Mizushima's lead here and will define Asuka river in this poem
and the following poem as a river in the East with unknown location.
See the commentary to 14.3402 for the string oftwo diminutive suffixes -na-
na in se-na-na 'dear beloved'. These diminutive suffixes represent the only EOJ
feature in this poem.
This is clearly a woman's poem, because of se '[male] beloved (lit.: 'elder
brother') used towards the addressee.
The literal translation of line four se-na-na-t6 puta-ri 'with [my] dear
beloved, two [of us]' .
14.3545 (W)
*X
(1)
. Original text
*~JrRriiiJ¥B (2) i!!:R~Zm i!!:~ (3) *R*?tWz-fE: (4) ~tfJi S 2R*,'i!!,~
(5) i!!:R1~lZ9mi!!:~
Romanization
(I) Asuka-N-KApa (2) sek-u to sir-i-s-eNpa (3) amata yo mo (4) wi-ne-te ko-
masi-wo (5) sek-u to sir-i-s-eNpa
Translation
(2) If [I only] knew that [your parents] are going to stop [us]/dam (1) Asuka
river, (3/4) [I] would come to bring [you out] to sleep [together] for many nights,
but. .. (5) If [I only] knew that [they] are going to stop [us).
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
Together with the preceding 14.3544 this poem constitutes a poetic mini-
sequence, since both poems mention Asuka river.
234 MAN'YC>SHO
Romanization
(1) awo YANKI-no (2) par-ar-o kapato-ni (3) na-wo mat-u to (4) se miNto pa
kum-aNs-u (5) tat-i-N-to naras-umo
Translation
(3) Saying that [1] will wait for you (1/2) at the ford, where green willows are
putting forth [their buds], (5) [1] am flattening the place where [1] stand [by
walking back and forth] (4) without drawing [any] clear water!
Commentary
OnyaNki' 'willow' see the commentary to 5.817.
On the EOJ progressive suffix -ar- corresponding to WOJ -er- see the
commentary to 14.3351.
On the EOJ verbal attributive -0 see the commentary to 14.3395 and a brief
description of EOJ special grammar in the introduction.
OJ kapato 'ford' is a transparent compound consisting of kapa 'river' and to
'door, gate'.
EOJ uninflected adjective se 'clear' corresponds to WOJ si 'id.' EOJ form is
more archaic as it preserves PJ *e, which raised to i in WOJ.
EOJ miNto 'water' corresponds to WOJ miNtu 'id.'. EOJ form is more
archaic as it preserves PJ *0, which raised to u in WOJ.
On OJ to 'place' see the commentary to 14.3489.
This is certainly a woman's poem, as drawing water was not a man's job
(Omodaka 1977.14: 241), (Mizushima 1986: 371). Therefore, it clearly shows
that the second person pronoun na 'you' could be used by a woman in a
reference to a man. See also 14.3493 and the following commentary.
BOOK FOURTEEN 235
14.3547 (W)
*X
(1)
. Original text
(2)
~1iJJ!!JJ~J{.$ ~JHj>lmfjl-fljiIJJ (3) WF£3:f:!7t?JJ (4) **fjl-f~RJJD,'i!!,
(5) ~§tttf6::7]\m7(
Romanization
(1) aNti-no sum-u (2) Susa-no iriYE-no (3) komor-i NU-no (4) ana ildNtuk-asi
(5) mi-Ns-u pisa n-i s-i-te
Translation
(4) Oh, [it] is lamentable, (3) like a hidden marsh (2) in Susa inlet, (1) where
teals live! (5) As it has been a long [time] without seeing [you] ...
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
OJ aNti 'teal' is more exactly 'Baikal teal', MdJ tomoegamo (]--.::c:LjJ.::c,
Anas formosa), which is a small migratory water fowl resembling a wild duck
that comes to Japan in winter and lives in flocks at seashores. Male species have
a comma-shaped spot (MdJ tomoe) on their heads, hence the origin of MdJ
name (Nakanishi 1985: 288).
Susa inlet is identified as Susa bay (~Jtf6::(~) at To)'ohama seashore (Ili5i;) in
Minami Chita town (J¥j~?tIHJ) of Chita county (~~m) in present-day Aichi
prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 455), (Mizushima 1986: 372). Consequently, this
poem belongs to Mikapa (-= (JiJ) province, which was included into Tokaido Oft
$J!!) region under the Ritsuryo code. However, it is unlikely that Mikapa
province was in the EOJ linguistic area.
Mizushima notes that there are two types of k6m6r-i nu 'hidden marshes':
(a) one with stagnant water, because there is no outlet, and (b) hidden by
surrounding trees (Mizushima 1986: 372). In all likelihood the comparison used
here is with (a) type, implying that there is no outlet for lamenting sighs, which
are bottled up as the stagnant water in a marsh without outlet.
The first three lines constitute metaphoric introduction (hiyuteki )0, ttlltiRl¥J
Ff:) to the rest of the poem (Omodaka 1977.14: 242), (Mizushima 1986: 372).
236 MAN'yOSHU
Romanization
(1) nar-u se-ro-ni (2) KOtu-no yos-u-nasu (3) ito nokite (4) kanasi-ke se-ro-ni (5)
pitO sape yos-umo
Translation
(2) Like the debris approaching (1) singing rapids (5) [other] women, too,
approach (3/4) [my] beloved, who is extremely dear [to me]!
Commentary
A play on words (kakekotoba, m~li]) between se 'rapids' and se 'male beloved
[lit.: elder brother]' is obviously involved in this poem.
On EOJ diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
Although EOJ kotu is usually glossed as 'debris', 'waste' (Omodaka et al.
1967: 296) it is probably refers more specifically only to 'wooden debris'. The
corresponding WOJ word is kotumf.
On OJ ito nokfte 'very extremely' see the commentaries to 5.892 and to the
Chinese essay preceding 5.897.
On EOJ attributive -ke in kanasi-ke see the commentary to 14.3412.
*X
(1)
.Original text
14.3549 (E)
(2)
~S31ttIG~ ;0{*~~frJ~mE (3) {jtRS3PJ£3: (4) 1Jo~ZttiitgfJ:
(5) frJ~fIjPJWz~$
1Bt~ O).~ r 1-- • Kana transliteration
(1) t~v;pO liJ~t~ (2) LIlli- I ~bt~-5 (3) \;\--:)V;PiJ\b 2 (4) iJ\fctL~ lit
.is 2 iJ~ (5) biJ~ f] zpJ: 1 liD>
Romanization
(1) Tayupi-N-kata (2) sipo mit-i-watar-u (3) iNtu-yu kama (4) kanasi-ki se-ro-
Nka (5) wa-Nkari kayop-am-u
Translation
(2) The tide is rising over (1) the tideland of Tayupl. (3/4/5) Where will [my]
dear beloved visit me from, I wonder?
Commentary
The location of Tayupi tideland is unknown, although it is alternatively
identified with various placenames read as Tayupi. The problem is that all of
them are located in Western Japan: present-day Kochi prefecture, Hyogo
BOOK FOURTEEN 237
14.3550 (W)
*X
(1)
. Original text(2) 1JT:t1J\iBltfl)PJ:t1J\H (3)
~~E3fJT~~ ~~Jj1*~ (4) fJT~x~,~,::§.g.
(5) {i~ !:~~mffiffi]
Translation
(5) Because last night [I] slept alone, (4) [my heart] pounds violently (3) like the
crest of waves, (2) although [I] do not pound rice, (1) saying 'no' when pushed!
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
Line one is hypermetric (jiamari, *~ fJ ), but this is probably just a graphic
illusion, since osite ina was in all probability pronounced as [ositena].
This poem is rather difficult to understand and to translate. I follow
Omodaka's position in that the first two lines do not constitute a poetic
introduction (jo, tf) to the rest of the poem, but are its integral part (1977.14:
245). Regarding the contents, there is no consensus among modem
commentators how to interpret the first two lines. I follow Omodaka's and
Mizushima's point of view that ina 'no' does not refer to the rejection of a man
59 Ainu tay 'to die' is Sakhalin Ainu form, corresponding to Hokkaido Ainu ray 'id.', both
derived from PA *day or *oay (V ovin 1993: 16-17).
238 MAN'VGSHO
14.3551 (E)
*X . Original text
(1) ~iiJi!¥PJJffflli (2) PJ~1J\ft:R~~ (3) .bt&yffit1J\ffl: (4) .bt;£~R;£flliPJ
(5) ;!]O~,'i!:!,~5J2-jj$-5'7
Translation
(5) Leaving my darling, (4) will [I] untie the cords [of my garment] (3) with an
ordinary lover, [who] is [like] flat rapids, (2) where [the water] breaks and looks
white [like] the waves that bloom in the tideland (1) of ANtikama?
Commentary
The first two lines are considered to be a poetic introduction (jo, ff:) to the rest
of the poem that connects sak-u 'breaks and looks white' in line two to pira 'flat,
ordinary' in line three (OTodaka 1977.14: 245-46). This poem is full. of pla.ys
on words (kakekotoba, m"jij): sak- 'to bloom' and 'to break and look lIke whIte
(ofwaves)',pira 'flat' and 'ordinary', andse 'beloved/male lover' and 'rapids'.
The last case is especially interesting, because it occurs in spite of the fact that
se 'rapids' is written semantographically as yffit. These word plays required
double glossing on the forms that were affected. Also, two-layered translation
as presented above was necessary to convey as close as possible these plays on
words.
The location of ANtikama is unknown (Nakanishi 1985: 417). Besides being
interpreted as a placename (sometimes taken as '*~ 'taste-sickle', which
makes little sense as placename, or as aNtikamo 'a kind of a wild duck' that
violates the principles of the phonetic change: aNtikamo > aNtikama is an
impossible shift after a labial Im/), it is also explained alternatively as aNti 'teal'
(see the commentary to 14.3547), and kama, a tentative contraction of kamame
BOOK FOURTEEN 239
'seagull', not otherwise attested (Tsuchiya 1977.7: 392). Although the latter
hypothesis might seem attractive at first glance, because it allows one to
interpret aNti kama-no kata as 'the tideland where teals and seagulls [live]', the
fact that *kama 'seagull' is not attested makes this interpretation unrealistic. On
the contrary, if we follow the traditional interpretation of ANtikama as a
placename, and also dispense with the blinding shores of Japanese as the only
possible vehicle of explaining placenames, we get a perfect interpretation via
the prism of Ainu: anci60 'obsidian' (MdJ kokuyoseki, ~1lI:;q) + kama 'flat
rock, rock' (Chiri 1956: 6, 39). Thus, aNti kama is 'obsidian [flat] rock', which
unlike 'taste-sickle' appears to be quite appropriate for a placename.
On OJ kata 'sea bed, tideland' see the commentary to 15.3595.
On a custom among lovers of tying and untying the cords of their garments
see the commentary to 15.3585.
On EOJ attributive -ke in kanasi-ke see the commentary to 14.3412. Note
that in this poem the attributive kanasi-ke functions not as the adnominal form
modifying a following noun, but as a nominalized form 'the dear one'.
Romanization
(1) Matu-Nka ura-ni (2) sawaw-e ura-N-tat-i (3) ma-pitO-N-kotO (4) omop-os-
unam-o ro (5) wa-Nka [o]mop-o-nosu mo
Translation
(4) [You] are probably thinking (3) about the rumors (2) that are rising noisily
in multitude [like waves] (1) in the Pine bay, (5) like [I] am thinking [about
them].
Commentary
Line one is hypermetrlc (jiamari, ¥7'R 'J), but this is probably just a graphic
illusion, since matu-Nka ura was in all probability pronounced as [matuNkara]
or [matuNkura].
Matu-Nka ura may be either a placename with location unknown, or simply
a 'bay where pines grow' (Mizushima 1986: 379). As a placename it is
alternatively identified either as Matsukawa bay (*0) II 00) on the Ohama shore
(f§ 79;) in Soma city (f§}~ m) of present-day Fukushima prefecture, or as
Romanization
(1) ANtikama-na (2) Kake-na Mina-to-ni (3) ir-u sipo-na (4) katetaNsukumoka
(5) ir-i-te ne-m-aku rna
Translation
(5) [I] would sleep entering (4) ? (3) like a tide that enters (2) the estuary of
Kake (1) in ANtikama.
Commentary
On ANtikama see the commentary to 14.3551.
The location of Kake is unknown. It has been tentatively identified as a
lowland between the Yokosuka CfJlt~J{~I!IJ) town and Deno town (J:.lI!fl!lJ) in
Tokai city (JFU4ltm) of present-day Aichi prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 433).
However, this seems to be too much of a stretch to the West for a poem that
includes a clearly Ainu placename ANtikama and a line that cannot be read in
Japanese. Also, OJ Kake is meaningless as a placename, but possibly Ainu ka-
kes 'upper end' underlies it (with an expected loss of -s as a syllable final
consonant).
BOOK FOURTEEN 241
Romanization
(1) imo-Nka n-uru (2) toko-no atari-ni (3) ipa-N-kukur-u (4) MlNtu n-i
moNkamo yo (5) ir-i-te ne-m-aku mo
Translation
(4) [I] would like to be water (3) that seeps through the rocks (2) to the side of
the bed (1) where [my] beloved sleeps - (5) [like water] 1 would enter and sleep
[there].
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
The fifth line is identical with the fifth line in 14.3553 above.
14.3555 (E)
*Jt
(1)
. Original text
JfftA-~fXJJ
(2) ~tfU~fD~fIjJJ (3) PI ~JJOi~JJ (4) ~~::t:PI,~,f,J:*
(5) ffi~)ijHlEE:m1J\
Romanization
(1) MakuraNka-no (2) Ko~ka-no watar-i-no (3) Kara kaNti-no (4) otO-N-taka-
si-mo na (5) NE-N-Ape KO yuwe n-i
Translation
(4) The [rumors] are loud [like] the sounds (3) of a Korean rudder at KoNka
crossing (1) in MakuraNka! (5) [And all] is because of the girl with whom [I]
am not sleeping.
Commentary
On MakuraNka see the commentary to 14.3449.
On KoNka see the commentary to 14.3449.
Given these two placenames, this poem is likely to be from Simotupusa
province.
On Kara 'Korea, Korean' see the commentary to 15.3627.
On OJ kaNti 'rudder' see the commentary to 15.3624.
On EOJ iterative suffix -ape- see the commentary to 14.3529.
On the adnominal function of the infinitive form in EOJ see the commentary
to 14.3415.
Romanization
(1) sipo-N-pune-no (2) ok-ar-e-Npa kanasi (3) sa-NE-t-ure-Npa (4) pito-N-kot6
siNke-si (5) na-wo [a]N-to kamo si-m-u
Translation
(1/2) When [I] leave [you] like a sea boat, [I] am sad. (3) When [we] sleep
together, (4) people's rumors are dense. (5) What shall [I] do with you, I
wonder?
Commentary
On sipo-N-pune 'tide-boat' see the commentary to 14.3450. It i~ believed that
the first line represents the permanent epithet (makura-kotoba, ttWR]) to the verb
ok- 'to put, to leave' (Omodaka 1977.14: 253), (Mizushima 1986: 386), but this
makura-kotoba does not occur anywhere else in the Man 'yoshu. In addition, the
comparison is quite transparent here: leaving one's beloved like a sea boat that
one no longer uses, therefore I incorporate the first line into my translation.
On the EOJ progressive suffix -ar- corresponding to WOJ -er- see the
commentary to 14.3351.
BOOK FOURTEEN 243
Romanization
(1) nayam-asi-ke (2) pitO-tuma kamo yo (3) koNk-u pune-no (4) wasure pa se-
n-a-na (5) iya [o]mop-i mas-u-ni
Translation
(2) Oh, the wife of [another] man, (1) [for whom I] am suffering! (4) [I] will not
forget [you] (3) like a boat that is rowing [away], (5) and [my] thoughts [for you]
increase more and more, so...
Commentary
On EOJ attributive -ke in nayam-asi-ke see the commentary to 14.3412.
On pito-tuma 'wife of another man' see the commentary to 14.3472.
On EOJ form in V-(a)n-a-na 'V-NEG-ATTR-LOC' see the commentary to
14.3408.
Romanization
(1) ap-aNs-u s-i-te (2) yuk-aNpa wosi-kem-u (3) MakuraNka-no (4) KoNka
k6Nk-u pune-ni (5) kimi mo ap-an-u kamo
244 MAN'yOSHO
Translation
(1/2) If [I] would go without meeting [you], [I] would regret [it]. (5) I wonder
whether [I] will not meet my lord (4) at the boat that rows [across] KoNka
[ferry] (3) in MakuraNka?
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
WOJ -kem- is an adjectival tentative form that represents a fusion of
adjectival attributive -kf and tentative -am-. This is the only example of this
form in Azuma texts, and since it appears in a poem without EOJ distinctive
features, it should be recognized as a WOJ form. It remains unknown whether
EOJ had any corresponding form. Also, WOJ adjectival tentative -kem- should
not be confused with OJ past tentative -kem-. For details, see Vovin (2009a:
478-79).
On MakuraNka see the commentary to 14.3449.
On KoNka see the commentary to 14.3449.
G.iven these two placenames, this poem is likely to be from Simotupusa
prOVlllce.
Although men usually were the ones who went away, leaving their beloved
women behind, it seems that in this poem the situation is the opposite. First, the
author says that she would feel regretful if she does not see her lover. This is a
strange choice of words for someone who is left behind. If she were left behind,
she might have felt sad but not regretful. Second, it looks like that in the second
part of the poem, she asks her beloved to come to the boat to see her off. It is
highly unlikely that she is asking for his permission to come to the boat herself.
14.3559 (W)
*X . Original text
(1) ~*~tfJ\-sr- (2) {iHa =lS1HB:S3 =IS (3) RJ~*~Z (4) ~q:w1llitcJJfrJt~
(5) ~PJ&~tc*RJ£3:
Romanization
(1) opo-N-pune-wo (2) pe-yu mo tOmo-yu mo (3) katame-te-si (4) Koso-no
sato-N-pitO (5) arapas-am-e kama
Translation
(5) Would (4) the man from Koso village, (3) who promised strongly [to keep
our relationship secret] (1) [like] the big boat (3) [that is tightly] secured [by
ropes] (2) from both the bow and the stem, (5) reveal [it to others]? [- Certainly,
he would not!]
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
OJ katarne- has double meaning 'to promise strongly' and 'to strengthen, to
secure' and consequently it is introducing a play on words (kakekotoba, MHI'f]),
since katarnetesi in line three can refer both to the man from Koso village who
strongly promised his love to the author, and to the big boat tightly secured by
ropes.
The location of Koso is unknown (Omodaka 1977.14: 255), (Nakanishi
1985: 446), (Mizushima 1986: 389). The name of this village also represents a
play on words with focus particle koso that triggers the change of the final
verbal form into an evidential.
Some modem commentators believe that the Koso-no sato-N-pito 'person
from Koso village' is not a man, but a woman (Kojima et al. 1973: 500),
reversing the role of the sexes in this poem, but I prefer to follow the traditional
explanation that pita 'person' refers to a man, and not to a woman (Mizushima
1986: 389-390).
Romanization
(1) rna-kane puk-u (2) Nipu-no ma-sopo-no (3) iro-ni [i]Nde-te (4) ip-an-aku
noml so (5) a-Nka kop-ur-aku pa
Translation
(5) As for my longing for [you] (4) [I] just do not tell [you] about it, (3) as it
shows in [my] face, (2) [red] like a red earth in Nipu, (1) where [they produce]
iron [by] blowing [bellows).
Commentary
OJ rna-kane, lit.: 'true metal' IS Iron, alternatively also called kuro-N-kane
'black metal'.
246 MAN'yOSHU
14.3561 (E)
*X . Original text
(1) PJ*7J fE.sf (2) * &#;f1~S3~ (3) l:t~7JfL~ (4) ~iiJ*.sf 7J7J~~.&
(5) 1~~.sf~~7J-a
Romanization
(1) kana-to-N-TA-wo (2) ara-N-kaki ma-yu mi (3) pi-Nka tor-e-Npa (4) ame-
wo mat-o-nosu (5) kimi-wo to mat-o mo
It is believed that sapo is also present in WOJ (Omodaka et al. 1967: 405), but none of the
*
61
Man 'yoshu attestations are phonographic (16.3841 and 16.3843), so it may be that the reading of
the character is either sopi or otheIWise unattested *s6po. There is a later kana gloss -til
/sopo/ in the Nihonshoki, but it tells us nothing about the quality of the vowel.
BOOK FOURTEEN 247
Translation
(5) [I] am waiting for [my] lord [to come] (4) like waiting for the rain (3) when
the sun is shining (1/2) while looking at the paddy [in front] of the metal
[adorned] gate through the spaces in the rough fence!
Commentary
On OJ kana-to 'metal adorned gate' see the commentary to 14.3530.
The interpretation of the second line is controversial. I follow here the
interpretation adopted by Takeda (1966: 430-31), (Kubota (1967: 269),
Omodaka (1977.14: 256-58), and Ito (1997: 574-75). A competing explanation
interprets the second line as ara-N-kak-i ma-yumi (rough-DV(INF)-plough-INF
INT-taboo) 'roughly ploughing [the paddy], I cleansed my body (lit.: [cleansed]
the taboo' (Takagi et al. 1973: 453), (Tsuchiya 1977.7: 400), (Nakanishi 1981:
285), (Mizushima 1986: 391-92), (Aso 2011: 489).62 There are several major
problems with this interpretation. First, to be best of my knowledge, the verb
kak- 'to scratch' is not attested in the meaning 'to plough' in OJ. Second, EOJ
*yumi 'taboo', which is alleged to be a 'corruption' ofWOJ imi 'id.' is a ghost,
not attested in the texts. Finally, the author of this poem is clearly a woman.
Why would she be ploughing a paddy?
EOJ tor- 'to shine' is a hapax legomenon corresponding to WOJ ter- 'id.'
On EOJ comparative case marker -nosu see the commentary to 14.3413.
On the EOJ verbal attributive -0 see the commentary to 14.3395 and a brief
description of EOJ special grammar in the introduction.
On EOJ focus particle to see the commentary to 14.3409.
EOJ mo in line five is an emphatic particle, which unlike the WOJ emphatic
particle mo can follow attributive forms of verbs.
14.3562 (E)
*:>t . Original text
(5) *
(1) *ml*~1]\ (2) ~::ffjmc~Wf£J:JJ (3) ~~*~~15( (4) tt~mW:fEj &-$
Sf WHo PI tfJI "3
f&~ (JY.~ r L- • Kana transliteration
(1) ;it) l') -{- 1 ~~;: (2) .t3.bQ t::. ~ t 2 (J) 2 (3) 5 't::JttV 1 ~ 1 (4) U' 1 (: 2 l') ~
~ G tJ (5) ;it) ~ ~ 't::J zp;Jd. '"("
Romanization
(1) ar-iso ya-ni (2) op-uru tama mo-no (3) uti-naNpik-i (4) pito-ri ya N-Uram-u
(5) a-wo mat-i-kane-te
62 There are also modem commentators who mention both interpretations, but remain non-
committal (Kojima et al. 1973: 50 I), and those who declare that the line is simply
incomprehensible (Satake et al. 2002: 376).
248 MAN'yOSHO
Translation
(4) Will [my beloved] sleep alone (3) stretching out (2) like jewel seaweed that
grows (1) at the rough rocky shore, (5) because [she] cannot wait for me?
Commentary
OJ ar-iso is a contraction of ara iso. It is usually interpreted as 'rough rocky
shore', but we should keep in mind that it also can mean 'rough rock', since OJ
iso has the original meaning 'rock', which later developed the secondary
meaning 'rocky shore' as well. This original meaning also appears in 14.3563
below, as well as in other poems.
The word ya in the first line is usually believed to be an emphatic particle ya
(Omodaka 1977.14: 259), (Mizushima 1986: 393), but the emphatic particleya
cannot precede locative case marker -ni. There is a much simpler explanation
that does not violate OJ grammar if we take this ya to be a loanword from Ainu
ya 63 'shore, dry land' (Chiri 1956: 144), (Hattori 1964: 212). This loanword is
the only EOJ feature in this poem.
14.3563 (E)
*Jt . Original text
(1) J::t~:fX~flli (2) {fl-ff.i.fJJfrf"PJ-*JJ (3) ~%J~*~ (4) fo.>f PJJffW~~=E
(5) {t~=Ec~~d±J:
Translation
(4) Would [she] have waited for me, (5) both last night and tonight (3) [with her
thoughts] rising in disorder (3) like wakame on the rocks (1) in the tideland of
Pita?
Commentary
The location of Pita is unknown with certainty, but it tentatively can be
identified as a part of Kasumigaura bay (!t Jr im) in present-day Ibaraki
prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 478). If this identification is correct, then this poem
is from Pitati province. The Ainu origin of this placename is rather transparent:
Ainu pilar 'stone field' < pit-tar 'pebbles-continue one after another' (Chiri
1956: 96). EOJ has apparently borrowed the older form pittar, as this form
explains the presence of -t- rather than -Nt- in the EOJ form.
Romanization
(11 ko-suNke-ro-no (2) ura puk-u kaNse-no (3) aN-to su su ka (4) kanasi-ke
KO-ro-wo (5) omop-i-suNkos-am-u
Translation
(3/5) Why would [I] pass again [and] again in [my] thoughts (4) [my] dear girl
(2) like a wind [that passes] blowing [over] the tops (1) of little sedges?
Commentary
On OJ suNke 'sedge' see the commentary to 14.3369.
On EOJ diminutive suffix -ro see the commentary to 14.3351.
On EOJ interrogative pronoun aN- 'what, why' see the commentary to
14.3379.
EOJ ura 'top of a plant, upper branches [of a tree]' corresponds to WOJ ure
- ura- 'id.', with the expected loss ofPJ *-y in EOJ: PJ *uray> EOJ ura, cf. PJ
*tukuy 'moon' > EOJ tuku, PJ *kopoy- 'long for' > EOJ kopu-, etc.
My interpretation of the first line as 'little sedge' and the word ura in the
beginning of the second line as 'top of a plant' agrees with the minority's
opinion (Kojima 1973: 501), (Satake et al. 2002: 377). However, the majority of
modern Japanese commentators interpret the word ura not as 'top of the plant',
but as 'bay', and consequently the whole first line as a placename (Takagi et al.
1959: 455), (Takeda 1966: 433), (Kubota 1967: 271), (Omodaka 1977.14: 260),
(Tsuchiya 1977.7: 402), (Nakanishi 1981: 285), (Mizushima 1986: 395), (Ito
250 MAN'yOSHO
1997: 578-79), (Aso 2011: 491-92). None of these scholars, however, backs this
opinion with any detailed argumentation. I believe that two arguments can be
made in favor of the minority opinion. First, while the placename KosuNke
does indeed exist, there is no placename KosuNkero. In addition, it seems that
having both prefixation and suffixation in placenames would be something
unusual. Second, the poem is quite plain, if one reads it according to the
majority's opinion, but it becomes a real masterpiece with unusual imagery if
read in accordance with the minority's point of view.
On EOJ su 'again' < Ainu suy 'id.' see the commentary to 14.3363. See also
14.3487, especially on the reduplicated form su su < Ainu suy suy. Needless to
say, this interpretation disagrees completely with the tradition, as all the
commentators treat this su su as OJ s-u s-u 'do-FIN do-FIN'.
On EOJ attributive -ke in kanasi-ke see the commentary to 14.3412.
EOJ suNkos- 'to pass' is a hapax legomenon corresponding to WOJ suNkus-.
The EOJ form is more archaic, as it represents the pre-raised form still
preserving PJ *0. MdJ sugos- 'to pass' likewise preserves the form that is more
archaic than WOJ suNkus-.
Romanization
(1) kano ko-ro-tO (2) NE-Ns-u ya nar-i-n-am-u (3) paNta susukJ (4) UraNO-no
yama-ni (5) tuku katayor-umo
Translation
(2) Will it become [so that I] will not sleep (1) with that girl? (4/5) The moon is
setting down at the Urano mountain (3) (makura-kotoba)!
Commentary
On the opaque permanent epithet (makura-kotoba, t;t~~) paNta susuki see the
commentary to 14.3506. Note that in this poem paNta susuki refers not to the
'ear of rice', but to a specific mountain.
Mt. Urano is tentatively identified as a mountain in Urano town ('F &!I1flBT)
in Chiisagata county (d' 9f!;tl1)) of the present-day Nagano prefecture or as a
mountain located almost between Ueda city (J:: E8 $) and Matsumoto city (;f~
*$) in the same prefecture (Nakanishi 1985: 430), (Mizushima 1986: 396). If
this identification is correct, this poem is from Sinanu province.
BOOK FOURTEEN 251
On EOJ tuku 'moon, month' corresponding to WOJ tukr 'id.' see the
commentary to 14.3395.
14.3566 (E)
*X . Original text
(1) fD1t=8'i!J~ (2) *fXl!J#,f~,~~ (3) ~fD~PJ=8 (4) JJo*~ft-iJfd!t*
(5) cffg,~,&~"5
Translation
(2) If I die from longing (1) for my beloved (3/5) I wonder that [the people
around] will not know (4) [my] heart that [I] will let deities carry [away].
Commentary
With the exception of the first two lines, this is a notoriously difficult poem to
understand due to an unknown word sowape in the third line. There is no lack
of explanations cited (Omodaka 1977.14: 262-63), (Mizushima 1986: 399), but
all of them are done with the complete disregard to the history of the Japanese
language and the chronology of its phonological changes. Omodaka et al.
mention three major hypotheses, but find them all suspicious (1967: 408).
Therefore, there is no point in reviewing any of them. As far as I can tell, in
terms of an explanation or an etymology, nothing can be deduced from Ainu,
nor from any other neighboring language. The translation presented above is
extremely tentative and should be taken with a big pinch of salt. It partially
follows Mizushima's interpretation (1986: 398-99), but not completely, as it
takes the deities' curse out of the picture as something that is not substantiated
by the text.
Translation
Poems of border guards.
Commentary
This is the title for a short sub-sequence within the relationship poems (;f1Hjfj~)
section from the poems from unidentified provinces from book fourteen of the
252 MAN'YQSHD
Man 'yoshu. It is far from being all-inclusive in this book, because several other
poems were identified previously as likely belonging to border guards (OJ
sakfmori, [1]A): 14.3480, 14.3487, 14.3516, 14.3527, and 14.3528. As far as
we know, during the Nara period border guards were predominantly recruited
from the warriors of the Eastern Provinces (Azuma, *00) known for their
military skills and strength. They were mostly dispatched to guard the most
vulnerable western provinces of YamaW, predominantly in Kyiishii, although
many of them were probably assigned to duty in Eastern Provinces themselves,
serving as a vanguard ofYamatO's north-eastern thrust against Ainu. For more
details see the introduction to the forthcoming translation of book twenty of the
Man 'yoshu.
14.3567 (W)
*:>c
(1)
. Original text(2)
~{ti=j1jtPJ~ {jt:=€)~I#PJ~Z (3) -aH~lJi=j S3!A. (4) ~iHtr:fmS3~JJ
(5) S3:WPJi]\£3:~=§
Romanization
(1) ok-i-te ik-aNpa (2) imo pa ma-kanasi (3) mot-i-te yuk-u (4) aNtusa-no
yumi-no (5) yuN-tuka n-i moNkamo
Translation
(1/2) If [I] go leaving [my] beloved [behind], [I] will miss [her] so much. (5) [I]
wish [she would] be a bow handle (4) of the catalpa bow (3) that [I could] take
away [with me]!
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
),
Line one is hypermetric (jiamari, +~ ~ but this is probably just a graphic
illusion, since okfte ikaNpa was in all probability pronounced as [okitekaNpa].
OJ ik- 'to go' is an extremely rare verb in the Man 'yoshu, as it occurs only
se~en times in the whole anthology as compared to its phonetic variant yuk- that
reIgns supreme.
On OJ aNtusa 'catalpa' and aNtusa yumf 'catalpa bow' see the commentary
to 14.3487.
OnyuN-tuka 'bow-handle' see the commentary to 14.3486.
BOOK FOURTEEN 253
Romanization
(1) okure wi-te (2) k§pi"-Npa kurusi-mo (3) asa-N-kari-no (4) kimi-Nka yumi n-i
mo (5) nar-amasi MOnowo
Translation
(2) [It] is hard if[I] am longing for [you] (1) being left alone! (4/5) [I] would
even become your bow (3) for the morning hunt, (5) but ...
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
On the translation of okure wi-Ie as 'being left alone' see 15.3752.
Translation
The two poems above are the dialogue poems.
Commentary
Both poems appear to be written in impeccable Western Old Japanese. It
certainly could be due to the late editing, but the most likely explanation is that
a border guard to be and his sweetheart were from the cream of the cream of the
border guard circles well versed in the standard language of the West to the
extent that they were able to compose poetry in it. Consequently, we probably
have here a poem by an anonymous commander of a border guard contingent as
well as by his sweetheart or wife.
14.3569 (W)
*X
(1)
. Original text
(2)
ftr:f~-a~1J\ ~~z*ftr:*tJJ (3) PJ~]Jf§1J\ (4) ~~~tL-'¥-}Gl,~
(5) ~SI'GlSlBU~-a
-f.&~ (7).~ r
L- • Kana transliteration
(1) 2: ~ 1 t 2 t= (2) t~ 'G L-ib 2: It 2 (J) 2 (3) iJ·it. ~
I) 1 -c:t= (4) tdiit.n~
LJ;. 1 (5) it. ~ 1 L:. 1 Gt'i t 2
Romanization
(1) saki-mori n-i (2) ta~t-i-si asa-[a]ke-no (3) kana-to [i]Nte n-i (4) ta-N-panare
wosim-i (5) nak-i-si KO-ra pa mo
254 MAN'YDSHO
Translation
(5) Ah, my girls who cried (4) and regretted the separation (3) when [I] was
going through the metal adorned gate (2) at the dawn when [I] departed (1) to
be a border guard.
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features. Like 14.3567 above it must have
been composed by a representative from an upper class of border guards. His
higher social status can be further confirmed by the WOJ plural suffix -ra in
reference to his wives and possibly concubines as well. See also 14.3528, where
the evidence of polygamy extends to lower classes as well. However, the
presence of kana-to 'metal adorned gate' speaks here for the much higher social
status of the author of this poem.
On OJ kana-to 'metal adorned gate' see the commentary to 14.3530.
14.3570 (W)
*Jt
(1)
. Original text
*zlm~1J\ (2) ~1ff:§:Jlt?p-~2j (3) PJBrflt~~JJ (4) h::-$f2~:tIHI&,~,
(5) ~-'¥-~,~,~t&-$
Romanization
(1) asi-no PA-ni (2) yupu-N-kiwi tat-i-te (3) kamo-Nka NE-no (4) samu-ki yupu
pe si (5) na-woNpa sinop-am-u
Translation
(5) [I] will long for you (3/4) in the evening when cries of wild ducks [sound]
cold, (2) and when evening fog rises (I) at the leaves of reeds.
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features. Like 14.3567, 14.3568, and 14.3569
above it must have been composed by a representative from an upper class of
border guards.
On OJ asi 'reed' see the commentary to 14.3445.
On OJ kamo 'wild duck' see the commentary to 14.3524.
BOOK FOURTEEN 255
14.3571 (W)
*X . Original text
(1) ~~RWf-'¥- (2) l:t1!JJtcJJ1]\~6 (3) ~f*k ,f~JR (4) JMIDk ~~PJU5fE
(5) ~q:~~#IJJ~l:t:*
Translation
(1/2) Leaving my own spouse in [other] people's village (4/5) [I] came all this
way, looking [back] (3) gloomily.
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features. Like all other poems in this sub-
sequence above it must have been composed by a representative from an upper
class of border guards.
Since OJ reflexive pronoun one marks possession with possessive case
marker -Nka, the form one-N- found in this poem cannot be a contraction from
one-no 'self-GEN'. Consequently, it represents one-N-, the oblique stem. For
details on oblique stem marker (OSM) see Vovin (2005: 220-21, 235-36, 249).
Lines two and five are hypermetric (jiamari, *~ ~), but this is probably
just a graphic illusion, since sato-ni ok-i and miti-no apiNta was in all
probability pronounced as [satonoki] and [mitinapiNta] respectively.
Mizushima suggests that 'other people's village' probably implies the village
where the author's wife was from (1986: 407).
Translation
Allegorical poems.
Commentary
This is the title for a short sub-sequence within the poems from unidentified
provinces from the book fourteen of the Man 'yoshii.
256 MAN'yOSHO
14.3572 (E)
*Jt . Orig~nal text
(1) 3Ctt=.§jID(PJ (2) ~PJEl tA.Wf~*JJ (3) EiU:U5TEi&'JJ (4) :th*JffW?~{t1]\ (5)
PJ~;:fjlPJ~PJffl:
Romanization
(1) aN-tO [o]mop-e ka (2) ANsikuma yama-no (3) yuNturu pa-no (4) pupum-ar-
u toki-ni (5) kaNse puk-aNs-u kamo
Translation
(5) [I] wonder whether the wind will not blow (4) when (3) yuNturu leaves (2)
from Mt. ANsikuma (4) are still in the buds - (1) what do [you] think?
Commentary
The allegorical meaning of this poem implies: 'Are you going to touch a girl
who is still too young, are you not?' (Omodaka 1977.14: 269), (Mizushima
1986: 408-09).
On EOJ interrogative pronoun aN- 'what, why' see the commentary to
14.3379.
EOJ [oJmoP-e 'think-EV' corresponds to WOJ omop-e 'id.', with evidential
-e being misspelled as -e. This probably indicates the lack of the contrast
between e: e in the EOJ dialect that underlies this poem.
The exact location of Mt. ANsikuma is unknown, but it is believed to be
either Mt. Kokaiyama (-=t-ftjjj UJ) in Tsukuba town (~i&' lHT) of Tsukuba county
(tJL i&' m) in present-day Ibaraki prefecture, or Mt. Hirasawa (ijL iR UJ) in
Hirasawa village (ijLiRH) in the same township and county (Nakanishi 1985:
416). If either of these identifications is correct, then this poem is from Pitati
province.
OJ yuNturu-pa is MdJ yuzuri-ha (~ ~ ~, Daphniphyllum macropodum), a
tall evergreen tree that grows in the wild or can be planted. It is widespread in
central and southern Honshu, Kyiishu, and Shikoku. The name of the plant is
derived from the fact that when new leaves appear in the spring, old leaves fall
off, giving their place (yuNtur- 'to hand over') for the new leaves. Leaves of
yuNturu-pa are fleshy and smooth, with the underside having a white color. It
blooms in summer with small yellowish green flowers that tum into purple
fruits. The bark and leaves are used for medicinal purposes, and leaves are used
for New Year decorations, especially being attached to simenawa 'sacred straw
rope' or kagami-moti 'large rice cake offered to deities' (Nakanishi 1985: 332),
(Mizushima 1986: 408).
OJ pupum- 'to hold inside [one's mouth]', 'to be still in buds' is believed to
be a phonetic variant of OJ pukum-, although the latter is attested
phonographically only in late kana glosses (Omodaka et a1. 1967: 631).
BOOK FOURTEEN 257
On the EOJ progressive suffix -ar- corresponding to WOJ -er- see the
commentary to 14.3351. EOJ progressive suffix -ar- occurs in other identified
poems from Pitati (14.3351), therefore this poem should be classified as a poem
from Pitati province.
There is an interesting morphosyntactic feature in this poem. While in WOJ
emphatic particle kama triggers the change of the final verbal form into
attributive irrespective of whether it is found before or after the verb (Vovin
2009a: 1235), puk-aNs-u kama 'blow-NEG-FIN PT' in line five demonstrates
that in EOJ emphatic particle kama does not necessarily trigger this change
when it is found after the verb.
Romanization
(1) asi piki n-o (2) yama kaNtura kaNke (3) ma-siNpa n-i mo (4) e-N-kata-ki
kaNke-wo (5) ok-i ya kar-as-am-u
Translation
(2) [Oh,] the ground pine from the mountains (1) with low feet! (5) Would [I]
leave and let dry (4) the ground pine that is difficult to get (3) very frequently?!
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
The allegorical meaning of 'ground pine' indicates a beautiful woman who is
difficult to obtain (Omodaka 1977.14: 269). Mizushima offers a much more
elaborate (and more speculative) explanation based on the fact that the spores of
ground pine were prized for their medicinal usage (1986: 411). It is a possibility,
but no spores are mentioned in the text. Since ground pine had other usages as
well (see below), I prefer Omodaka's explanation.
On asi pfki' n-a 'with low foot' see the commentary to 15.3655.
WOJ kaNtura kaNke or simply kaNke or pikaNke 'ground pine' is the same
plant as MdJ hikage no kazura (S~ • • S ~i~, Lycopodium clavatum), a
perennial vine grass that grows both in tropical and temperate mountain regions
of the northern hemisphere. It likes shade, hence the explanation of some of its
names involving WOJ kaNke 'shade'. Its stem is of a green color, reaching up
to 2 m in length, and sometimes it splits into two, producing white color roots.
The shape of its leaves is reminiscent of criptomeria leaves. In antiquity it was
258 MAN'YC>SHU
considered to be a sacred and pure plant, and was used in Shinto ceremonies, as
well as for making wigs like other vines.
14.3574 (W)
*X . Original text
(I) -'¥-16:JJ~mt (2) t~*~~i~*-'¥- (3) J:t1~~iiJ§ (4) -'¥- I~J!~1HJtLtt
(5) f &:fOPJ~wt~
i&~ (1)1f~ r L. • Kana transliteration
(I) ~ ~ (: 1ft -5 (2) fj:ftt= t::d:rft~ (3) 0' I ~ 1 J:: tJ-c (4) ~ G<U' (: 2 Tn
(:" 2 (5) -) G biJ"d:f. 1 : . 2.:.c 2
Romanization
(I) wo-sato-n-ar-u (2) pana tatiNpana-wo (3) pik-i-yoNti-te (4) wor-am-u to s-
ure-NtO (5) ura waka-mi koso
Translation
(4) Although [I] was going to break off (2) a [branch of] mandarin orange
flowers (1) in a small village (3) by grabbing and pulling [the branch], (5)
because [I felt in my] heart that [it is] young, [I did not break it off].
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
The allegorical meaning of pana tatiNpana 'mandarin orange' indicates a
girl, who is so young that the author restrains himself from laying his hands on
her, although he is attracted to the girl (Omodaka 1977.14: 270), (Mizushima
1986: 411-12).
WOJ wo-sato is most likely just a 'small village', although theoretically it
can be a placename.
Onpana tatiNpana 'mandarin orange flowers' and the unusual word order in
this phrase see the commentary to 15.3779.
WOJ ura waka- is an idiomatic expression meaning 'to feel in one's heart
[that someone else] is young'. It occurs only in the form ura waka-mi 'because
[one] feels that [someone else] is young' (Omodaka et al. 1967: 136).
BOOK FOURTEEN 259
Romanization
(1) MiyaNsiro-no (2) su-ka pe-ni tat-er-u (3) kapo-Nka pana (4) NA-sak-i-iNte-
so-n-e (5) kome-te sinop-am-u
Translation
(3) [Oh,] bindweed flower (2) standing on the sandbar side (1) in MiyaNsiro, (2)
[1] wish [you] would not bloom: (5) [1] will hide [you] and will admire and
enjoy [you].
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
The allegorical meaning of kapo-Nka pana 'bindweed flower' refers to a
secret lover or a secret wife whose existence the author does not want to reveal
to the rest of the world (Omodaka 1977.14: 271-72), (Mizushima 1986: 412-13).
The location of MiyaNsiro is unknown (Omodaka 1977.14: 271), (Nakanishi
1985: 490), (Mizushima 1986: 412). The etymology of this p1acename is
transparent: OJ mfya 'palace' + -N-, contracted form of the genitive case marker
-no + siro 'substitute', probably indicating 'temporary palace'.
Given the considerable variation between the manuscripts regarding the
spelling of the syllable su in the second line (Mizushima 1984a: 424-25), there
is a considerable discrepancy in opinions what suka in this line means. Thus, for
example, Omodaka analyzes suka as su 'river shoal', 'sandbar' + ka 'place'
(1977.14: 270), and Mizushima as suka 'sand hill', mentioning that there is a
word suka meaning 'sand hill', 'dune', 'sandy beach', 'river bank', etc. in
modern dialects of Central and Eastern Japan (1986: 412). The suka 'sand hill,
dune' is, however, an obvious late contraction of su 'sand' and woka 'hill'
(which is itself a compound consisting of wo 'hill' and ka 'place') that would
not be possible in OJ. Thus, 1adopt Omodaka's point of view.
On OJ kapo-Nka pana 'bindweed flower' see the commentary to 14.3505.
OJ sinop- here does not mean 'to long for', but 'to admire and enjoy'
(Omodaka et al. 1967: 362-63).
14.3576 (E)
*X . Ori~nal text
(1) ~¥JJ1.-z rs
Jj (3). E~Jt~¥JJ1.~.sf (3) (5(ft~1]\~Jtm (4) ~¥J1ffD ~1]\*1=
(5) *~ RTJJD~,~,~
~!6 Oy. ~ r L- • Kana transliteration
(1) ttli l- 60) 2 (2) :. Jt 2" 2 iOqitt:a: (3) ~ jl;Ql:::.-t ~ (4) tt ~ ~ '11:::. '1
I:::. (5) d0-tfiO~iO~tt l-ft I
Romanization
(1) napa-siro-no (2) ko-naNkI-Nka pana-wo (3) kinu-ni sur-i (4) nar-urn
manima n-i (5) aNse ka kanasi-ke
260 MAN'YC>SHU
Translation
(4) As [I] am getting used [to her] as to well worn (3) garment to which [I] rub
(2) the flower of water leek (1) from the seedling nursery, (5) why is [she] so
dear to me?
Commentary
On OJ naNkf 'water leek' see the commentary to 14.3415. Its flowers are used
for dyeing clothes.
OJ nare- represents a play on words (kakekotoba, m~il]) between nare- 'to
get used to' and nare- 'to wear clothes out'.
On EOJ aNse 'why' see the commentary to 14.3369.
On EOJ attributive -ke in kanasi-ke see the commentary to 14.3412.
. Original text
Preface to the poem 14.3577
*X
:J1e~
Translation
An elegy.
Commentary
This is the only elegy among all the poems from book fourteen of the
Man 'yoshii.
Romanization
(1) kanasi imo-wo (2) iNtuti yuk-am-e to (3) yama suNke-no (4) soNkap-i n-i
NE-si-ku (5) ima si kuyasi-mo
Translation
(1/2) Where would [my] dear beloved go? (5) Now [I] regret (4) that [we] slept
turning away [from each other] (3) [like leaves] of a mountain sedge!
Commentary
This poem has no distinctive EOJ features.
Line one is hypennetric (jiamari, *~ fJ ), but this is probably just a graphic
illusion, since kanasi imo was in all probability pronounced as [kanasim6].
OJ imo 'beloved' is marked by an absolutive case marker -wo, which is a
rare phenomenon with non-adjectival predicates.
The first two lines kanasi imo-wo iNtuti yuk-am-e to 'Where would [my]
dear beloved go?' probably refer to the death of author's spouse or beloved.
On OJ suNke 'sedge' see the commentary to 14.3369. According to Keichii,
the leaves of a mountain sedge are growing in such a manner that they are
turned away from each other (Hisamatsu 1975: 162).
On WOJ soNkap- 'turn one's back' on', 'turn away' see the commentary to
14.3391.
OJ -ku in ne-si-ku 'the fact that [we] slept' is a special fonn of the
nominalizer -aku occurring after past tense attributive -si, for details see Vovin
(2009: 763-76).
*X . Original text
Postscript to the poems 14.3438-3577
J;l, lW~~jij*1~ibffi ~ ± ~J II z!6 ill
Translation
The names of lands, places, mountains, and rivers in the poems above still
cannot be identified.
Commentary
This a postscript to the whole unidentified section of Azuma poems in book
fourteen of the Man 'yoshu, meaning that the local origin of these poems is
unknown. See, however, the Introduction to this volume on the possibility of
determining the local origins of at least some of the poems 14.3438-3577 found
in the unidentified section.
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