Vol. XXXVI.]
Vol. III. Sect. CXXIV.
277
“Wilt thou be without thinking even of the Heart that is in the moor of Ohowiko, the moor of Ohowiko, that is by Takaki at Mimoro?”[1]
Again he sang, saying:
“If indeed I had pillowed [my head] on thy white arm like the whiteness of the roots, the great roots, that were beaten with wooden hoes by the women of Yamashiro where the seedlings grow in succession, [then] mightest thou say, ‘I know [thee] not!’ ”[2]
- ↑ This Song is so obscure that Motowori and Moribe differ completely as to its interpretation. The translator has followed Moribe, though by no means persuaded that the latter has hit on the proper signification. According to this view, the Emperor makes a pun on the word “heart,” which is supposed to have been the name of a pool situated on the moor of Ohowiko near Takaki at Mimoro,—all names of places with which the Empress was familiar,—and reproaches her for having no thought of his heart which beats so lovingly for her. Motowori, on the other hand, thinks that the poem proper consists only of its last two lines (in the English translation they necessarily come first): “Wilt thou be without thinking even of the heart?”—and that all the rest is a “Preface” to the Pillow-Word kimo-mukafu by which the word kokoro, “heart,” is preceded. As for oho-wi-ko and takaki, they are taken, not as names of places, but as common Nouns. According to this view of the structure of the Song, it ceases (with the exception of its last two lines) to have any rational signification, and it is needless to attempt to translate it for the English reader. Persons familiar with Japanese are therefore referred to Motowori’s Commentary, Vol. XXXVI, pp. 34–36.
- ↑ The meaning of this Song is: “If thou and I had not so long been spouses, then indeed mightest thou break with me, and declare that thou knowest me not. But how canst thou so far forget our wedded life as to desert me now?”—The “great root,” oho-ne, is the modern dai-kon (Raphanus sativus), a kind of radish which is a favourite vegetable with the Japanese and is distinguished by its brilliantly white appearance. “Beaten” here signifies “dug up.” The use of the Past Tense is curious. Ko-guha, here in accordance with Motowori’s view rendered
verbal messages of which he was made the bearer. The translator would prefer to consider ko as an abbreviation of hiko, “prince,” especially as the sister’s name is Kuchi-hime, where the word hime must mean “princess.”
