Hito shirenu waga kayoiji no sekimori wa yoiyoi goto ni uchi mo nenanamu - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

人知れぬ我が通ひ路の関守は
宵々ごとにうちも寝ななむ

Roma-ji: Hito shirenu waga kayoiji no sekimori wa yoiyoi goto ni uchi mo nenanamu
English Translation: Unknown to others,
the gatekeeper who stands guard
upon my secret path,
I wish that every night
he would just drop off to sleep
Meaning: Oh, that the gatekeeper guarding the secret path I take to you would nod off to sleep, if only a little, night after night.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 632

Headnote: "He had come to know someone around Fifth Avenue in the eastern part of the capital and went to visit her. Since it was a secret place, he could not enter by the gate and went in through a break in the wall; when this happened again and again, the master of the house heard of it and had men lie in wait on that path every night, so that he went but could not meet her and came home, and composed this and sent it."
The poet wishes that the watchman guarding the secret path would fall asleep, if only a little, each night. According to the headnote, he had been secretly visiting a woman near Fifth Avenue in the east of the capital, slipping in through a break in the wall since he could not use the gate; when the master of the house found out and posted guards each night, he returned without meeting her and sent this poem. Calling the watchman a "barrier keeper" is an exaggeration in which humor and urgency sit side by side.
The author, recorded as Narihira Ason, is Ariwara no Narihira. He was the fifth son of Prince Abo and is counted among the Six Poetic Immortals and the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.
This poem also appears in section 5 of The Tales of Ise, where the woman is identified as the Nijo Empress and the master, hearing the poem, is said to have allowed the visits.

The first line, "hito shirenu," means "unknown to others," marking this as a secret love.
The second line, "waga kayoiji no," means "of the path by which I visit," referring to the gap in the wall in the headnote.
The third line, "sekimori wa," names the keeper of a barrier station, an exaggeration casting the watchmen as barrier guards.
The fourth line, "yoiyoi goto ni," means "every single night," answering the watchmen posted night after night.
The final line, "uchi mo nenanamu," means "I wish he would sleep even a little," formed from na, the irrealis of the perfective nu, and the wishing particle namu.
Author: Ariwara no Narihira
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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