Hashitaka no nomori no kagami eteshigana omoi omowazu yoso nagara min - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

はし鷹の野守の鏡得てしがな
思ひ思はずよそながら見ん

Roma-ji: Hashitaka no nomori no kagami eteshigana omoi omowazu yoso nagara min
English Translation: Oh, to have the mirror
of the field-warden who found
the hawk in its depths—
whether you love me or not,
I would see it from afar
Meaning: If only I had the field-warden's mirror, which once revealed the lost hawk; I would see from afar whether you love me or not.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Love Poems V 1432

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the third poem of the sequence on fields and paddies. The speaker wishes for the field-warden's mirror, said to reflect distant things, to see from afar whether the beloved cares or not. The headnote gives no topic, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author, "Anonymous," indicates a poet whose name has not come down.
The field-warden's mirror is the mirror of the warden who watched over the fields, said in legend to have shown where an escaped hawk had gone, and it was sung as a mirror that reflects distant things. It later became the subject of Zeami's noh play Nomori.

The first line, "hashitaka no," refers to the small hawk used in falconry, calling up the tale of the field-warden's mirror that showed where the hawk had gone.
The second line, "nomori no kagami," is the mirror held by the field-warden, said to reflect distant things. From the autumn paddies of the preceding poem, the scene moves to the fields.
The third line, "eteshigana," means "I wish I could obtain it," expressing a wish. The poem breaks after the third line.
The fourth line, "omoi omowazu," means "whether you love me or not."
The last line, "yoso nagara min," means "I would see it from afar," "n" being volitional. Where the preceding poem lamented one-sided brooding, this one wishes to know the other's heart, turning at the close of the sequence toward that heart itself.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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