#003 あしびきの

あしびきの
山鳥の尾の
しだり尾の
ながながし夜を
ひとりかもねむ 

Ashibiki no yamadori no o no shidari o no naganagashi yo o hitori kamo nemu

Kakinomoto Hitomaro

tiresome mountain trail of the copper pheasant's tail  its long trailing tail how much longer is this night I must also sleep alone (trans. Köy Deli)

dragging footsteps the tail of the mountain bird the tail drooping over the long long night does it also sleep alone  (trans.  Jane Reichhold)

Folkloric Background


In Japanese folklore mountain fowl are said to sleep alone, with pairs seperated at night on opposite slopes of the mountainside - hence the poets reference to himself sleeping alone 'also/too'.

ashibiki no (pillow-word modifier of mountain, peak)
foot/leg drag | of
yamadori no o no
mountain fowl |of | tail | of
shidari o no
drooping/trailing | tail | of
naganagashi yo o
long, long so | night | acc. particle
hitori ka mo nemu
alone | do | also | sleep

Ashibiki (no)	あしびき (の)	Foot drag, foot weary, foot aching,	Pillow word modifier of mountain, peak	3
Dori	鳥	Bird; Chicken		3
hitori	ひとり	One, alone, yourself, himself,		3
ka	か	?, do,  either/or, whether, what	Interrogative particle @ end of sentence	3
mo	も	Also, even, too, so	Emphatic particle	3
naga	なが	Long, length, length of, lengths		3
Naganaga(shi)	ながなが	The long, long; Drawn-out, longer, (the, then, and then)		3
nemu	ねむ	Sleep,	(眠nemuri)	3
o	尾	Tail; tail end;  slope at the foot of a mountain;		3
o	を	Accusative particle (the, to, a, an, your)	Follows the direct object.	3
Shidari	しだり	drooping,  trailing	Shidari o no = a pillow word of ‘dori’	3
Yamadori	山鳥	Mountain fowl (copper pheasant)		3
Yo (yoru)	夜	Night, evening		3