Shita no obi no michi wa katagata wakaru tomo yukimegurite mo awamu to zo omou - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

下の帯の道はかたがた別るとも
行きめぐりても逢はむとぞ思ふ

Roma-ji: Shita no obi no michi wa katagata wakaru tomo yukimegurite mo awamu to zo omou
English Translation: Like an undersash,
though our roads may part
this way and that,
going round and round,
I mean to meet you once again.
Meaning: Like the ends of an undersash that part and wind around only to be tied together again, our roads may divide in different directions, but I am determined that, going round and round, we shall meet once more.
Commentary: Book Eight Parting Poems 405

Headnote: "Composed at the place of parting after speaking to someone in a carriage met along the road"
This poem was composed at the place of parting, after the poet had called out to someone in a carriage met on the road and exchanged words. Just as the ends of an undersash part to left and right behind the body and are tied again in front, so though their roads divide they will meet again; into a chance meeting and parting, the poet puts a wish for reunion.
The author, "Tomonori," was Ki no Tomonori, a cousin of Ki no Tsurayuki and one of the compilers of the Kokinshū, who died before its completion.

The first line, "like an undersash," refers to the sash of an undergarment. Because a sash divides to left and right, goes around the body, and is tied again, it forms a preface leading to the conceit of the following lines. The line has an extra syllable. As the last poem of the book, it answers the opening poem, 365, which began with the promise of reunion, "I will return at once," by closing the book with a wish to meet again.
The second line, "our roads this way and that," uses katagata, "here and there," overlaying the two ends of the sash with the parting of the two travelers' roads.
The third line, "though they may part," uses the concessive hypothetical tomo: even if we part.
The fourth line, "going round and round," means circling back, as the sash goes around the body to be tied again, showing the road that leads to reunion.
The last line, "I mean to meet you again," binds the particle zo with the attributive omou, ending with a firm resolve to meet again.
Author: Ki no Tomonori
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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