Yo no naka wa kaku koso arikere fuku kaze no me ni minu hito mo koishikarikeri - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

世の中はかくこそありけれ吹く風の
目に見ぬ人も恋しかりけり

Roma-ji: Yo no naka wa kaku koso arikere fuku kaze no me ni minu hito mo koishikarikeri
English Translation: So this is the way
of the world between two hearts
like the blowing wind
one I have never seen
I have come to long for
Meaning: So this is what love between man and woman is like: someone I have never seen, invisible as the blowing wind, has become dear to my heart.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems I 475

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Noticing that he longs for someone he has never once seen, the poet is struck that this, then, is what love is. Using the invisible wind as his metaphor, he expresses with wit the strangeness of being drawn to one whose form cannot be seen. Within the first half of this book, which sings of love for the unseen, this poem sums up that state of mind succinctly.
The poet "Tsurayuki" is Ki no Tsurayuki. He was one of the compilers of the Kokinshu and is believed to have written its kana preface. He served as governor of Tosa and wrote the Tosa Diary. He is one of the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "So this is the way": yo no naka here means the relationship between man and woman, that is, love.
Second line, "of the world between two hearts": kaku koso arikere means "so this is how it is." Koso forms a kakari-musubi with kere, which expresses the sigh of realization, and the poem pauses here.
Third line, "like the blowing wind": a metaphor for something invisible, leading into the fourth line. In poem 472 of this book, the wind was also sung of as love's aid.
Fourth line, "one I have never seen": me ni minu hito mo means even someone I have not yet seen with my own eyes.
Fifth line, "I have come to long for": keri expresses the sigh of a first realization. Layering arikere in the second line with keri here strengthens the surprise of discovery.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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