Karagoromo kitsutsu narenishi tsuma shi areba harubaru kinuru tabi o shi zo omou - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

唐衣着つつなれにしつましあれば
はるばるきぬる旅をしぞ思ふ

Roma-ji: Karagoromo kitsutsu narenishi tsuma shi areba harubaru kinuru tabi o shi zo omou
English Translation: Like a Chinese robe
worn till it is soft and close,
I have a dear wife,
so this journey, come so far,
it is the journey I think of.
Meaning: Like a fine robe worn so long that it has grown soft against the skin, I have a wife I have grown close to back in the capital, and so I cannot stop thinking of how far this journey has carried me.
Commentary: Book Nine Travel Poems 410

Headnote: "He set off toward the eastern provinces, inviting one or two friends along. When they reached a place called Yatsuhashi in the province of Mikawa, irises were blooming most beautifully by the river there. Seeing them, they sat down in the shade of a tree, and he composed this, setting the five syllables ka-ki-tsu-ha-ta at the heads of the lines to express the feelings of travel."
Thinking of the wife he left in the capital, the poet broods on how far he has traveled. Though the syllables ka, ki, tsu, ha, ta head each line as an acrostic, the layered puns and associated words never spoil the feeling of travel, and a deep longing for home comes through.
According to the headnote, on the way to the east with his friends, Narihira saw irises blooming by the river at Yatsuhashi in Mikawa, sat in the shade of a tree, and composed a poem on the feelings of travel with the flower's name at the heads of the lines. The scene is also famous from episode nine of The Tales of Ise, where the travelers' tears fall onto their dried rice.
Ariwara no Narihira was a son of Prince Abo, himself a son of Emperor Heizei, and his mother was Princess Ito, a daughter of Emperor Kanmu. He is counted among the Six Poetic Immortals and the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals, and is taken to be the hero of The Tales of Ise.

The first line, "karagoromo," is a pillow word leading to "wear," and it starts a chain of words tied to clothing: wear, soften, hem, stretch. The acrostic's "ka" is placed here.
The second line plays on "nare" as a robe softened by long wear and as growing intimate with someone. Everything up to here forms a preface leading to "tsuma." This gives the acrostic's "ki."
In the third line, "tsuma" puns on the hem of a robe and a wife, and "shi" is emphatic; "areba" is a completed condition, "since I have a wife." This gives the acrostic's "tsu."
In the fourth line, "harubaru" plays on "far, far away" and "haru," stretching cloth after washing, while "ki" plays on "come" and "wear"; all are words associated with the robe. This gives the acrostic's "ha."
The last line binds "zo" with the attributive "omou" and gives the acrostic's "ta." Like the preceding poem, 409, it ends with "o shi zo omou," moving from thoughts of a departing boat to thoughts of the poet's own journey.
Author: Ariwara no Narihira
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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