Azumaji ni karu chō kaya no midaretsutsu tsuka no ma mo naku koi ya wataran - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

東路に刈るてふ萱の乱れつつ
つかのまもなく恋ひやわたらん

Roma-ji: Azumaji ni karu chō kaya no midaretsutsu tsuka no ma mo naku koi ya wataran
English Translation: Along the Eastern Road,
like the thatch grass that they cut,
tangled and in disarray,
without a moment's binding rest
must I go on and on in love
Meaning: Like the thatch grass they say is cut along the Eastern Road, lying tangled and in disarray, must I go on loving you without a moment's pause?
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 1214

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the sixth poem of the sequence on a love whose visits have ceased. Disordered like the thatch grass cut along the Eastern Road, must he go on loving without a moment's pause? The headnote continues "Topic unknown" from the preceding poem, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author, "Engi," is Emperor Daigo. Engi is the era name of his reign, and he is called by it as the emperor of that age. He was a son of Emperor Uda.

The first line, "azumaji ni," means "on the road to the Eastern Provinces."
The second line, "karu chō kaya no," means "of the thatch grass they say is cut." "Chō" is a contraction of "to iu," "that is called."
The third line, "midaretsutsu," means "lying in disarray." The cut grass lying tangled is overlaid with a heart in love's disorder, and the upper three lines form a preface leading to the fourth line.
In the fourth line, "tsuka no ma mo naku," "tsuka" is a pivot word meaning both "a bundle" of cut thatch grass and "a brief moment." "Thatch grass," "cutting," "disarray," and "bundle" are linked as associated words.
The last line, "koi ya wataran," is the same as the fourth line of the preceding poem. Where that poem gave as the reason that there was no way to meet, this one sings of love's ceaseless disorder, using the same phrase to show the continuing of love from another side.
Author: Emperor Daigo
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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