Yo no uki mo hito no tsuraki mo shinoburu ni koishiki ni koso omoiwabinure - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

世の憂きも人のつらきも忍ぶるに
恋しきにこそ思ひわびぬれ

Roma-ji: Yo no uki mo hito no tsuraki mo shinoburu ni koishiki ni koso omoiwabinure
English Translation: The sorrows of the world,
and the coldness of that one,
these I can endure;
it is longing, only longing,
that has worn me to despair
Meaning: I can bear the sorrows of the world and the coldness of the one I love; it is longing alone that wears me down.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Love Poems V 1424

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the second poem of the sequence on life and one's lot. The speaker can endure the world's sorrows and the beloved's coldness, but longing alone brings him to despair. The headnote gives no topic, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author, "Fujiwara no Motozane," was a poet of the mid-Heian period and one of the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets. His rank rose no higher than Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade.

The first line, "yo no uki mo," means "the sorrows of the world, too." It takes up "tsune naranu yo" of the preceding poem.
The second line, "hito no tsuraki mo," means "the coldness of that person, too." Set beside the first line, it lists what can be borne.
The third line, "shinoburu ni," means "though I endure them."
The fourth line, "koishiki ni koso," means "it is longing," and the particle "koso" governs the last line.
The last line, "omoiwabinure," closes the kakari-musubi of "koso" with the perfective form "nure." By the logic that one can bear the world's sorrows and the beloved's coldness but not longing, it shows how strong longing is.
Author: Fujiwara no Motozane
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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