Rare Ancient Japanese Poem Unearthed!
SpecGram Wire Services
Tom Stinnett reporting
Archaeologists from the Basil Randolph Anderson Center for Lexico-Archeological Sartorial Poetry Studies (BRA-CLASPS), led by researcher Margo Edi, recently reported the discovery of part of an ancient Japanese poem, dating back to pre-Nara times. Written in man'yōgana, the poem is thought to describe the apparel of another woman observed by the (presumably female) author. The exact meaning of the extant lines is disputed, but they hope further discoveries may shed light on the purpose of this strangely compelling lyric:
之
乎
良
二知備知 知二位 二
曳路煩留可土努婢貴二
Alas, the poem breaks off here enigmatically.
Translator Karōshi Sararīman at BRA-CLASPS has kindly provided a first attempt at transliteration into equivalent modern Japanese syllables, using hiragana:
し
を
ら
にてぃびてぃ てぃにゐに
いぇろぽるかだっとびきに
More news as it develops.
