verse till the dawn came on them unawares. Of a sudden the grace of elegant style was embodied in his speech, and he broke into song, saying:—
In the eight-island land[1]
Vainly a wife I sought
Until in Kasuga
(Of Spring weather)
Hearing that there was
A fair maiden,
Hearing that them was
A good maiden,
Pushing open
The spruce-fir plank door
(Of right-wood[2] cleavage)
Hither have I come.
Taking it by the foot end
I laid hold of the hem[3] (of her garment),
Taking it by the pillow-end
I laid hold of the hem (of her garment);
Then my beloved's[4] arm
Was wound around me
And my arm too
Was wound round my beloved.
(XVII. 13.) Like a luxuriant vine,
Arm embraced and twined with arm;
As the armlet fits the elbow,[5]
In sweet slumber we lay.
'Tis the bird of the courtyard,
The cock that is crowing:
'Tis the bird of the moor,
The pheasant that is clamouring.
Ere I have uttered
All my mind fully
The dawn has come. Oh my beloved one!
Then his consort replied in song, saying:—
- ↑ i.e. Japan. See above, Vol. I. p. 15.
- ↑ Maki, lit. "right-wood," is here a mere honorific epithet applied to the wood of the Chamæcyparis obtusa, which has an even grain, adapting it well for making planks at a time when saws were unknown and the axe was used for that purpose.
- ↑ Tsuma, "hem," also means "spouse."
- ↑ Lit. younger sister, which was used much like our "my dear."
- ↑ The interpretation of this line is very doubtful.
