Au koto wa tama no o bakari na no tatsu wa yoshino no kawa no tagitsu se no goto - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

逢ふことは玉の緒ばかり名の立つは
吉野の川のたぎつ瀬のごと

Roma-ji: Au koto wa tama no o bakari na no tatsu wa yoshino no kawa no tagitsu se no goto
English Translation: Our meetings are brief
as a string that threads the beads,
but the rumors rise
like the rapids that rush down
the river of Yoshino
Meaning: Our meetings last no longer than a thread of beads is short, yet the rumors about us rise like the roaring rapids of the Yoshino River.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 673

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet laments that meetings are as brief as a bead string is short, while rumors rise as fiercely as the rapids of the Yoshino River. Contrasting brief meetings and great rumors through the short bead cord and the wild current, it expresses how unfair love's bargain is.
The author is recorded as anonymous, and the name has not come down to us.
Poem 651 of this book resolved not to let rumor rise like the roar of the Yoshino rapids, and poem 660 also sang of rushing rapids; here the rumor has risen just like those Yoshino rapids, echoing them.

The first line, "au koto wa," means "as for meeting," pairing with "as for the rumor rising" in the third line.
The second line, "tama no o bakari," means "as short as the cord of beads," a figure for a very brief time, with a pause after the second line.
The third line, "na no tatsu wa," means "as for the rumor rising."
The fourth line, "yoshino no kawa no," names the Yoshino River, a poetic place in Yamato, sung as a fierce current.
The final line, "tagitsu se no goto," means "like the rushing rapids," closing with the comparative goto.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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