Mono omowade tada ōkata no tsuyu ni dani nurureba nururu aki no tamoto o - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

もの思はでただおほかたの露にだに
濡るれば濡るる秋の袂を

Roma-ji: Mono omowade tada ōkata no tsuyu ni dani nurureba nururu aki no tamoto o
English Translation: Even without love's
brooding, just by the dew
that falls on all things,
when it wets, how wet it grows,
this sleeve of autumn, and yet—
Meaning: Even without brooding over love, an autumn sleeve grows wet whenever it is wet with the ordinary dew that falls on everyone; how much more, then, with tears.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 1314

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "For the Minase Contest of Fifteen Love Poems."
This is the third poem of the sequence of love poems from the contests at the Bureau of Poetry and at Minase. Even without brooding over love, the speaker says, an autumn sleeve grows wet with the ordinary dew. Continuing from the preceding poem, it was submitted to the Minase Contest of Fifteen Love Poems.
The author, "Ariie, Lord of the Court," is Fujiwara no Ariie. A son of Fujiwara no Shigeie, he was one of the compilers of the Shinkokinshū. "Lord of the Court" is an honorific added to the names of those of the fifth rank and above.

The first line, "mono omowade," has six syllables, one more than the norm, and means "even without brooding over love."
The second line, "tada ōkata no," means "merely ordinary, common to all."
In the third line, "tsuyu ni dani," "dani" means "even." It names a lighter thing: not tears of love, but even the ordinary dew of autumn.
The fourth line, "nurureba nururu," means "when wet, it grows wet," repeating the same verb to show how readily an autumn sleeve grows wet.
In the last line, "aki no tamoto o," "o" is a concessive tinged with exclamation: "this autumn sleeve, and yet." Breaking off, it lets the reader infer the heavier case left unsaid: how much more when the tears of love are added.
Author: Fujiwara no Ariie
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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