「甘樫丘」にて　at Amakashi-no-Oka Hill

采女の　袖吹きかへす　明日香風 京を遠み　いたづらに吹く

Unemeno sodefukikaesu asukakaze miyako’otoomi itazuranifuku

With the capital in the distance, the wind of Asuka that once blew through the sleeves of its court ladies has lost all its purpose

采女たちの袖をあでやかに吹き返した明日香風、その風も都が遠のき、今はただ空しく吹いているばかりだ、と旧都になった明日香にたたずみ、懐旧の情にひたる志貴皇子。

采女は諸国から貢上されて天皇、宮中に仕えた美女たち。皇子の母もその一人でした。長い袖をひるがえして歩く華やかな采女たちは繁栄する都の象徴でもあったのでしょう。華やかな新京・藤原京へは目を向けず、廃都になった明日香の風の中に采女の姿を幻視している志貴皇子の孤独な姿が采女と共に歌から浮かんできます。

Lost in nostalgic emotion, Prince Shiki reminisces about how the wind that once elegantly tousled the sleeves of the court ladies now just blows aimlessly around since a new city has been designated as the capital.

The court ladies he speaks of were beautiful women from various realms who served the emperor and the imperial court, and the prince’s own mother was one of them. These gorgeous women and their long, fluttering sleeves most likely served as a symbol of the capital’s prosperity. When reading this poem, an image of the lonely Prince Shiki reminiscing about the old, deserted capital’s heyday appears just clearly as the images of the court ladies themselves.