#251 Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Awajino Noshimanosakino hamakazeni imogamusubishi himofukikaesu
When I arrived at Noshima cape in Awaji, the sea breeze
make the strings of clothes tied by my wife flutter.
This poem #251 is part of a series of eight poems like #250.
He, Kakinomoto-no-Hitomaro, was traveling around Noshima then.
But it is questionable whether Hitomaro was on same trip as in
#250. Also, it is not known whether it was written on his journey
to the east or west, or it was written on the sea or on the land.
Himo, meaning strings, are usually attached to both sides of
clothes and help make them stay on a body. Speaking of himo in
Manyoshu, himo is used as magic power in most cases, apart from a
physical function. The word himo would be found in as many poems as eighty in Manyoshu. These poems are
devised into two categories, love and travel. As was often the case with
love songs, a couple made sure of their affection for each other by tying
the strings on each other's clothing and firmly making a promise to see
each other before the journey. According to the custom then, they were
prohibited to undo the strings, but some who were impatient to see each
other again left the strings untied. Before going on a journey, a wife
would pray for her husband's safety by making the string's knots firm.
It meant she gave him a part of spirit tama or tamashii" and locked it up in a knot. Some
experts believe that the man would then be guarded against any
catastrophes during the journey, because the tied knot was supposed
to have magical powers. In fact, whenever a husband looked at the
tied strings far away from his home, he would feel closer to his wife.
Some wives were so worried about the strings becoming loose that they
had their husbands carry needle and thread throughout the journey.
In the poem above, the scene of wind making strings flutter
suggests that strings would soon loosen up. It also hints that the
husband would come back home without any trouble and see his wife.
Do you think this was written on the way over or on the way back?
Awajishima