Hyakunin Isshu Oracle

No.18 藤原敏行朝臣「住の江の 岸に寄る波 よるさへや 夢の通ひ路 人目よくらむ」

住の江の 岸に寄る波 よるさへや 夢の通ひ路 人目よくらむ

藤原敏行朝臣

the waves come in all night — you will not, even in dreams

the waves come in all night — you will not, even in dreams

キーワードKeywords

Shore WavesNightDream PathAvoiding EyesRepetition
Love

藤原敏行朝臣Fujiwara no Toshiyuki — No. 18 公卿Court Noble

A poet equally famous as a calligrapher, ranked in his day just after Kūkai himself.

すみのえの きしによるなみ よるさへや ゆめのかよひぢ ひとめよくらむ

Suminoe no Kishi ni yoru nami Yoru sae ya Yume no kayoiji Hitome yokuran

現代語訳Modern Japanese

コンセプトConcept

情景The Scene

A shoreline at night, waves arriving without hesitation, again and again, the way she never does. Even in dreams — the one route with no witnesses — she seems to be checking whether anyone is watching.

日本の美意識Japanese Aesthetic

Kakekotoba (Pivot Word)

One sound carries both “to draw near” and “night,” so the sea’s rhythm and the lover’s absence occupy the same syllable. A pun here is structural, not decorative — it fuses two scenes into one line.