Kaze fukeba nami utsu kishi no matsu nare ya ne ni arawarete nakinuberanari - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

風吹けば波打つ岸の松なれや
ねにあらはれて泣きぬべらなり

Roma-ji: Kaze fukeba nami utsu kishi no matsu nare ya ne ni arawarete nakinuberanari
English Translation: Am I the pine
on the shore where waves crash
when the wind blows,
that my roots now lie exposed
and I must cry aloud
Meaning: Am I like a pine on the shore where the waves crash whenever the wind blows? My roots laid bare, I feel I must break into sobs.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 671

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
As the roots of a pine on a wave-beaten shore are laid bare when the wind blows, the poet feels he must break out in sobs. With ne punning on "root" and "sound of weeping," the pine whose roots are exposed by the waves is overlaid with a self whose love comes into the open.
The author is recorded as anonymous, and the name has not come down to us. A left note says, "Someone says this poem is by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro," so one tradition attributes it to Hitomaro.

The first line, "kaze fukeba," means "when the wind blows," a confirmed condition.
The second line, "nami utsu kishi no," means "of the shore where waves crash."
The third line, "matsu nare ya," means "is it because I am a pine?" with ya raising a question, and a pause after the third line.
The fourth line, "ne ni arawarete," uses ne as a pivot word for "root" and "sound of weeping," overlaying roots laid bare with love revealed in cries.
The final line, "nakinuberanari," means "I seem about to weep," closing with the perfective nu and the conjectural beranari.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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