Ureshisa wa wasure ya wa suru shinobugusa shinoburu mono o aki no yūgure - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

うれしさは忘れやはする忍ぶ草
しのぶるものを秋の夕暮

Roma-ji: Ureshisa wa wasure ya wa suru shinobugusa shinoburu mono o aki no yūgure
English Translation: This gladness of mine—
how could I ever forget it?
Like the shinobu fern,
I dwell on it in my heart
in the dusk of autumn's day.
Meaning: How could I forget this gladness? Like the fern whose name means remembering, I recall it fondly in the autumn dusk.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1732

Headnote: "Sent to one who had often called on me when I fell ill in autumn, after I recovered."
This is the first of an exchange on the shinobu fern. She will never forget her gladness at being visited so often during her illness; like the fern whose name means remembering, she recalls it fondly in the autumn dusk. According to the headnote, she sent it, after recovering from an illness in autumn, to someone who had visited her many times; the reply in the next poem shows he was Minamoto no Tsunenobu.
The author, "Ise no Taifu," was the daughter of Ōnakatomi no Sukechika and granddaughter of Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu. She was a lady-in-waiting who served Jōtōmon-in Shōshi.

The first line, "ureshisa wa," is her gladness at being visited. The particle "wa" singles it out and leads to the rhetorical question.
In the second line, "wasure ya wa suru," "ya wa" is a rhetorical particle closed in kakari-musubi by the attributive "suru." Meaning "could I forget? Never," the poem pauses here.
The third line, "shinobugusa," is a kind of fern that grows on eaves. Its name leads to the like-sounding "shinoburu," and the fern appears in the next three poems as well.
The fourth line, "shinoburu mono o," means "though I recall it fondly." "Mono o" expresses a sighing emphasis, strengthening her feeling for him.
The last line, "aki no yūgure," is set as the hour when longing deepens, closing the poem on a noun. It also matches the autumn season in which she fell ill.
Author: Ise no Taifu
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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