Kimi o nomi omoine ni neshi yume nareba waga kokoro kara mitsuru narikeri - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

君をのみ思ひ寝に寝し夢なれば
わが心から見つるなりけり

Roma-ji: Kimi o nomi omoine ni neshi yume nareba waga kokoro kara mitsuru narikeri
English Translation: Since it was a dream
that came as I lay asleep
thinking only of you,
it was my own heart
that made me see you there.
Meaning: Because I fell asleep thinking only of you, the dream I had was born not of your longing, but of my own heart.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 608

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet realizes that since he dreamed while sleeping with thoughts only of the beloved, the beloved did not appear because of longing for him; it was a dream his own heart had shown him. At the time it was also believed that when someone thought of you, that person appeared in your dreams, so the joy of meeting in a dream turns into the lonely realization that it was only his own longing. Like Komachi's poem at the head of this book, it sings of a dream seen while sleeping with thoughts of the beloved.
Ōshikōchi no Mitsune was a poet of the early Heian period and one of the compilers of the Kokinshū. He held low provincial posts such as Junior Clerk of Kai and Senior Secretary of Izumi, but his poetic talent was highly regarded. He is one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.

First line, "kimi o nomi": nomi is restrictive, "only you."
Second line, "omoine ni neshi": omoine is sleeping while thinking of someone. Shi is the attributive of the past auxiliary ki. Like "omoitsutsu nureba ya" in 552 of this book, it sings of a dream seen while sleeping with thoughts of the beloved.
Third line, "yume nareba": the perfective form with ba stating a cause, "since it was a dream."
Fourth line, "waga kokoro kara": "from my own heart," stressing that it came not from the beloved's longing but from his own. It is the same phrase as "kokoro kara" in 600 of this book.
Fifth line, "mitsuru narikeri": tsuru marks completion, nari is the copula, and keri expresses realization, closing with his recognition that it was a dream his own heart had shown him. The next poem, 609, also closes with "narikeri," so two dream poems stand side by side.
Author: Oshikochi no Mitsune
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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