The Scent of Wine and Miwa Mountain

Nukata no Ookimi (a.k.a. Princess Nukata, 630-690 AD)
The scent of wine
And Miwa mountain—
Pleasant, green,
And hidden from
Nara’s sight.
So many
twists
Along the
paths
Of my
devotion—
I long to
see it
Again and
again.
My heart
Will
never abandon
This
mountain,
Though
the clouds
Conceal
it from my view.





Original Text

Modern Text

Pronunciation

額田王
額田王
Nukata no Ookimi
味酒
味酒
Umasake
三輪乃山
三輪の山
Miwa no yama
青丹吉
あをによし
Ao ni yoshi
奈良能山乃
奈良の山の
Nara no yama no
山際
山の際に
Yama no ma ni
伊隠萬代
い隠るまで
Ikakuru made
道隈
道の隈
Michi no kuma
伊積流萬代尓
い積もるまでに
Itumoru made ni
委曲毛
つばらにも
Tsubara nimo
見管行武雄
見つつ行かむを
Mitsutsu yukamu wo
數々毛
しばしばも
Shiba shiba mo
見放武八萬雄
見放けむ山を
Samikemu yama wo
情無
心なく
Kokoro naku
雲乃
雲の
Kumo no
隠障倍之也
隠さふべしや
Kakusau beshi ya



Translation Notes

A poem by
Nukata no Ookimi
味酒
Flavor alcohol
[This word leads Miwa]
三輪の山
Miwa ’s mountain
[Miwa = three wheels]
あをによし
Green excellent/pleasant/good
[This phrase leads Nara]
奈良の山の
Nara ’s mountain ’s
山の際に
Mountain ’s at-this-time from
い隠るまで
Seclude-onself/filled until
[Until (Miwa)
hides from those mountains]
道の隈
Path ’s corner
い積もるまでに
Pile-up/accumulate until at
[Walk through many of them (corner)]
つばらにも
Entrust/devote also
[As much as possible]
見つつ行かむを
Seeing go not
[Want to see]
しばしばも
Again-and-again
見放けむ山を
Desert/abandon not mountain
心なく
Heart not
雲の
Clouds ’s
隠さふべしや
Conceal fold this
  

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