Ashihiki no yama no kagegusa musubi okite koi ya wataran au yoshi o nami - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あしひきの山のかげ草結び置きて
恋ひやわたらん逢ふよしをなみ

Roma-ji: Ashihiki no yama no kagegusa musubi okite koi ya wataran au yoshi o nami
English Translation: Having tied the grass
in the shade of the mountains
where the long foot-paths wind,
must I go on and on in love,
with no way for us to meet
Meaning: I bound the grasses in the shade of the mountains as a pledge—must I go on loving you, when there is no way for us to meet?
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 1213

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
This is the fifth poem of the sequence on a love whose visits have ceased. Having bound a pledge like grasses tied in the mountain shade, must he go on loving, with no way to meet? The headnote gives no topic, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author, "Middle Counselor Yakamochi," is Ōtomo no Yakamochi. A son of Ōtomo no Tabito, he rose to Middle Counselor and is thought to have been deeply involved in compiling the Man'yōshū.

The first line, "ashihiki no," is a pillow word for mountains.
The second line, "yama no kagegusa," means "the grasses that grow in the mountain shade."
The third line, "musubi okite," means "having tied," and has six syllables, one more than the norm. Tying grasses expressed binding a pledge, or praying for safety and reunion.
The fourth line, "koi ya wataran," means "must I go on loving?" with "ya" forming a kakari-musubi with "ran." There is a pause after the fourth line, and the last line gives the reason in inverted order.
The last line, "au yoshi o nami," means "since there is no way to meet." "O ... mi" is an old construction meaning "since ... is ..." It laments that though the pledge was bound, they cannot meet, and the next poem also places "koi ya wataran" in its fourth line, so the two poems are joined by the same phrase.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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