Ōigawa iseki no mizu no wakuraba ni kyō wa tanomeshi kure ni ya wa aranu - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

大井川井堰の水のわくらはに
今日は頼めし暮れにやはあらぬ

Roma-ji: Ōigawa iseki no mizu no wakuraba ni kyō wa tanomeshi kure ni ya wa aranu
English Translation: At the Ōi River
like the water at the weir
that wells up at times,
is this not the very dusk
you promised me, rare as it is
Meaning: Like the water that wells up now and then at the weir on the Ōi River, you promised me this day, only once in a while—is this not that very evening?
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 1194

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the sixth poem of the sequence on waiting for the next evening after a meeting. Like the water that wells up now and then at the weir on the Ōi River, the beloved has made a rare promise for today—is this not that very evening? The headnote continues "Topic unknown" from the preceding poem, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author, "Kiyohara no Motosuke," was a grandson of Kiyohara no Fukayabu and the father of Sei Shōnagon. As one of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber, he took part in compiling the Gosenshū.
The Ōi River is a famous poetic place in Yamashiro Province, flowing at the foot of Arashiyama in Saga. A weir was a dam that held back river water to draw it into the fields.

The first line, "ōigawa," is the name of a famous poetic place in Yamashiro; it does not end the phrase but runs on to the weir below.
The second line, "iseki no mizu no," means "of the water at the weir." The upper verse forms a preface leading to "wakuraba ni" in the third line.
In the third line, "wakuraba ni," "waku" is a pivot word joining "water wells up" to "wakuraba," "once in a while." As the water at the weir wells up now and then, the promise is shown to be a rare one.
The fourth line, "kyō wa tanomeshi," means "that you promised for today." "Tanomu" in its lower bigrade conjugation means "to make someone rely," that is, "to promise."
The last line, "kure ni ya wa aranu," means "is this not the evening?" "Ya wa" is rhetorical, expressing reproach that though it is the promised evening, the beloved does not come. Where the preceding poems waited for the next evening, here the long-awaited evening of the promise has already come.
Author: Kiyohara no Motosuke
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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