Itsuwari no namida nariseba karakoromo shinobi ni sode wa shiborazaramashi - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

いつはりの涙なりせば唐衣
しのびに袖はしぼらざらまし

Roma-ji: Itsuwari no namida nariseba karakoromo shinobi ni sode wa shiborazaramashi
English Translation: If these were only
false tears that I am weeping,
then my Chinese robe,
its sleeves, I would never wring
in secret, hidden from all.
Meaning: If these tears were false, I would not be secretly wringing out the sleeves of my robe where no one can see.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 576

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet says that if his tears were false, he would not be wringing out his sleeves in secret, away from others' eyes. They are not tears for show but tears so abundant he must wring them where no one knows, and that is precisely why they are true; so he pleads the sincerity of his love. The counterfactual is used to prove the truth of his tears from the reverse side.
Fujiwara no Tadafusa was an official of the early Heian period from the Kyō branch of the Fujiwara. He served as Master of the Right Capital Office. He excelled at music and is also said to have composed pieces of gagaku court music.

First line, "itsuwari no": false, untrue, modifying "tears" in the second line.
Second line, "namida nariseba": se is regarded as the conditional form of the past auxiliary ki, and together with mashi in the final line it forms a counterfactual: "if they were false tears."
Third line, "karakoromo": an elegant word for a garment, leading into "sleeves" in the fourth line. Poem 572 of this book also places karakoromo in its third line and echoes this poem in singing of robes and tears.
Fourth line, "shinobi ni sode wa": shinobi ni means secretly, avoiding others' eyes.
Fifth line, "shiborazaramashi": shiboru means to wring out a sleeve soaked with tears, and mashi is the counterfactual auxiliary: "I would not wring them." Turning inside out the reality of wringing his sleeves unseen, he pleads the truth of his tears.
Author: Fujiwara no Tadanobu
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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