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41. Tadami Nibu: Nibu no Tadami, read aloud

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A Hundred Verses from Old Japan · 42 of 101

41. Tadami Nibu: Nibu no Tadami

41

Tadami Nibu

Nibu No Tadami

Koi su tefu Waga na wa madaki Tachi ni keri Hito shirezu koso Omoi-someshi ga.

OUR courtship, that we tried to hide, Misleading is to none; And yet how could the neighbours guess, That I had yet begun To fancy any one?

This poet was the son of the writer of verse No. 30, and he is said to have composed the poem on the same occasion as is mentioned for No. 40.

The word omoi in the last line is a 'pivot-word' used firstly in connexion with the fourth line, meaning 'I thought' (nobody knew), and also in conjunction with someshi, where it means 'I began to be in love'.