庭に立つ 麻手(ｱｻﾃﾞ)刈り干し 布さらす 東女(ｱﾂﾞﾏｦﾐﾅ)を 忘れたまふな
常陸娘子(ﾋﾀﾁﾉｦﾄﾒ)
Please don’t forget a country girl in the eastern country,
Who dried hemp and bleached fabric in the garden for you devotedly.
Hitachi No Otome, a country girl in Hitachi
(現代語訳)
庭に植えた麻を干して、布を晒(ｻﾗ)す東国の田舎女を、忘れないでください。
常陸娘子[任をおえて都にかえる常陸守(ﾋﾀﾁﾉｶﾐ)藤原宇合(ｳﾏｶｲ)に歌を贈った東国の女性]
(Vol. 4 – 521)
(コメント)
東国の田舎女の歌が、任を了えて都へ帰る国司に贈った歌。男からすれば出先の恋だったのか？ それはひどいでしょという気持ちだろう。あるいは、もともとそういうものと思っていたが、やはり思いは募るのか？
This is a poem by a country girl from the eastern provinces sent to a provincial governor returning to the capital after completing his duties. From the man’s perspective, was it a love affair while away? From the eastern woman’s perspective, she must have thought that was terrible. Or perhaps she had always thought that was the case, but her feelings for him grew stronger?
