Matsu hito wa kokoro yuku tomo sumiyoshi no sato ni to nomi wa omowazaranan - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

待つ人は心ゆくともすみよしの
里にとのみは思はざらなん

Roma-ji: Matsu hito wa kokoro yuku tomo sumiyoshi no sato ni to nomi wa omowazaranan
English Translation: Those who wait for you
may be content, and yet at
Sumiyoshi,
"a good place to live," I pray,
do not think only of home.
Meaning: Those who wait for you there may be content, but do not think of Sumiyoshi as the only good place to live.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems II 1607

Headnote: "On hearing that Daini no Sanmi had gone home to her family residence."
This is the second poem of the sequence on the pines of the bays. Those who wait for her may be content, the emperor says, but she should not think that only her home at Sumiyoshi is a good place to live. According to the headnote, the emperor composed and sent it on hearing that Daini no Sanmi had withdrawn from the palace to her family home.
The author, "Go-Reizei-in Onuta," means a poem by Emperor Go-Reizei. He was a son of Emperor Go-Suzaku, and Daini no Sanmi had served as his wet nurse.
The next poem, 1608, is Daini no Sanmi's reply.

The first line, "matsu hito wa," means "those who wait for you at home." This "matsu," "to wait," is taken up in the next poem together with the "matsu," "pine," of Sumiyoshi.
The second line, "kokoro yuku tomo," means "even if they are content." "Tomo" expresses an adversative supposition.
The third line, "sumiyoshi no," pivots on the place name Sumiyoshi and "sumiyoshi," "good to live in."
The fourth line, "sato ni to nomi wa," means "only as your home." With "nomi," it conveys the wish that she not give her heart to her home alone.
The last line, "omowazaranan," adds "nan," the final particle of a wish directed at another, to the negative "zara," meaning "I would have you not think so." It is an affectionate call urging her to return soon to the palace.
Author: Emperor Go-Reizei
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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