Tsutsumedomo sode ni tamaranu shiratama wa hito o minu me no namida narikeri - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

包めども袖にたまらぬ白玉は
人を見ぬ目の涙なりけり

Roma-ji: Tsutsumedomo sode ni tamaranu shiratama wa hito o minu me no namida narikeri
English Translation: Though I wrap them close,
they will not stay in my sleeve,
these white pearls that fall:
they are the tears of eyes
that cannot look on you.
Meaning: Though I try to wrap them up, these white pearls will not stay within my sleeve; they are the tears of my eyes, which cannot see you.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 556

Headnote: "Sent to Ono no Komachi, putting into a poem the words spoken by the Priest Shinsei as officiant on the day someone held a memorial service at the Lower Izumo Temple"
The poet says that the white pearls that spill from his sleeve no matter how he wraps them are the tears of eyes that cannot see her, and sends the poem to Ono no Komachi. According to the headnote, it wove into verse words spoken in a sermon by the officiating Priest Shinsei on the day of a memorial service at the Lower Izumo Temple. It is said to draw on the Lotus Sutra parable of the jewel sewn inside a robe, and its wit lies in turning that jewel into tears of love. With Komachi's reply in the next poem, it forms an exchange.
Abe no Kiyoyuki was an official of the early Heian period, the son of the Major Counselor Abe no Yasuhito. He held posts such as Governor of Mutsu and rose to the Senior Fourth Rank, Upper Grade.

First line, "tsutsumedomo": the concessive domo gives the sense of "though I try to hide my love from others' eyes."
Second line, "sode ni tamaranu": tamaru means to stay or collect, and it echoes the tama of the "white pearls" that follow. The tears cannot be kept in the sleeve and spill over.
Third line, "shiratama wa": shiratama are pearls, used as an image for drops of tears. The word is understood to reflect the jewel spoken of in the sermon.
Fourth line, "hito o minu me no": the eyes that cannot see the beloved; miru carries the sense of meeting as lovers.
Fifth line, "namida narikeri": keri expresses sudden realization, revealing that what looked like pearls were in fact tears. In 599 of this book too, tears are likened to white pearls, and the conceit recurs within the book.
Author: Abe no Kiyoyuki
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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