玉の緒
Japanese
Kanji in this term | |
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玉 | 緒 |
たま Grade: 1 | お Grade: S |
kun’yomi |
Alternative spelling |
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玉の緖 (kyūjitai) |
Etymology
Compound of 玉 (tama, “bead, gem”) + の (no, possessive particle) + 緒 (o, “cord, thread”).
The "life" sense comes from the homophone of 玉 (tama) with its likely derivation 魂 (tama, “soul, spirit”).
Pronunciation
- Kun’yomi
- (Tokyo) たまのお [tàmá nóꜜ ò] (Nakadaka – [3])[1]
- IPA(key): [ta̠ma̠ no̞ o̞]
Noun
玉の緒 • (tama no o) ←たまのを (tamanowo)?
- a bead string; a jewelled necklace
- c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 20, poem 4493), text here (also Shin Kokin Wakashū, poem 708, text here)
- 始春乃波都祢乃家布能多麻婆波伎手尓等流可良尓由良久多麻能乎 [Man'yōgana]
- 初春の初子の今日の玉箒手に取るからに揺らく玉の緒 [Modern spelling]
- hatsuharu no hatsune no kyö no tamabahaki te ni toru kara ni yuraku tama no o
- At the first of spring on the first Day of the Rat I take in hand the jewel broom, and all my soul tingles with the tinkling gems.[2]
- c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 20, poem 4493), text here (also Shin Kokin Wakashū, poem 708, text here)
- (figuratively) life, existence
- 1205, Shin Kokin Wakashū (book 11 poem 1034), text here (also Shokushi-naishinnō-shū, poem 319; Hyakunin Isshu, poem 89)
- 玉の緒よ絶えなば絶えねながらへば忍ぶることの弱りもぞする
- tama no o yo taenaba taene nagaraeba shinoburu koto no yowari mo zo suru
- String of beads, if you must break, break; if you last longer, my endurance is sure to weaken.[3]
- 玉の緒よ絶えなば絶えねながらへば忍ぶることの弱りもぞする
- 1216, Teika-kyō Hyakuban Jika-awase (Lord Teika's One Hundred Round Own Poem Contest, poem 188, right, winner)
- 思ふことむなしき夢の中空に絶ゆとも絶ゆなつらき玉の緒
- omou koto munashiki yume no nakazora ni tayu tomo tayu natsuraki tama no o
- Though all my hopes be shattered, leaving no trace, in the sky of empty dreams, do not shatter, o jeweled strand of life, however sorrows may try you.[4]
- 思ふことむなしき夢の中空に絶ゆとも絶ゆなつらき玉の緒
- Synonyms: 命 (inochi), 生命 (seimei)
- 1205, Shin Kokin Wakashū (book 11 poem 1034), text here (also Shokushi-naishinnō-shū, poem 319; Hyakunin Isshu, poem 89)
- Synonym of 見せばや (misebaya): Siebold's stonecrop (Hylotelephium sieboldii)
Derived terms
- 玉の緒の (tama no o no, pillow word)
- 玉の緒繰分 (Tama-no-o Kuriwake)
- 玉の緒柳 (tama-no-o yanagi)
Proverb
玉の緒 • (tama no o) ←たまのを (tamanowo)?
- by connecting beads into a string thereby making the space shorter, shortness of something
- 10th century, Ise Monogatari (poem 30)
- 逢ふことは玉の緒ばかり思ほえてつらき心の長く見ゆらむ
- au koto wa tama no o bakari omōete tsuraki kokoro no nagaki miyuran
- Our meetings are short as the spaces between the gems of a necklace. Longer-lasting indeed is your heartlessness.[5]
- 逢ふことは玉の緒ばかり思ほえてつらき心の長く見ゆらむ
- 10th century, Ise Monogatari (poem 30)
References
- 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- Edwin A. Cranston (1998) The Gem-Glistening Cup, Stanford University Press, →ISBN, page 481
- Princess Shikishi, Hiroaki Sato (1993) String of Beads: Complete Poems of Princess Shikishi, University of Hawaii Press, →ISBN, page 104
- Roselee Bundy (2006), “Solo Poetry Contest as Poetic Self-Portrait: The One-Hundred-Round Contest of Lord Teika's Own Poems: Part One.”, in Monumenta Nipponica
- Helen Craig McCullough (1968) Tales of Ise: Lyrical Episodes from Tenth-century Japan, Stanford University Press, →ISBN, page 93