Tsu no kuni no naniwa omowazu yamashiro no towa ni aimimu koto o nomi koso - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

津の国のなには思はず山城の
とはにあひ見むことをのみこそ

Roma-ji: Tsu no kuni no naniwa omowazu yamashiro no towa ni aimimu koto o nomi koso
English Translation: In the land of Tsu,
Naniwa—naught else I think of;
in Yamashiro,
at Toba—forever, only
to see you is all my wish.
Meaning: As in Naniwa of the land of Tsu, I think of nothing else; as in Toba of Yamashiro, all I wish is to be with you forever.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 696

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Using the place names Naniwa in Settsu and Toba in Yamashiro as pivot words, the poem says the speaker thinks of nothing else and wishes only to meet the beloved forever. Within this wordplay deftly woven from place names lies a single-minded love.
Taking up "ima mo miteshika" in the preceding poem, the wish to meet is raised here to an eternal desire, "towa ni aimimu."

The first line, "Tsu no kuni no," refers to the province of Settsu and leads to "naniwa" in the second line.
In the second line, "naniwa omowazu," "naniwa" is a pivot word joining the place name Naniwa in Settsu and "nani wa" (anything), giving "I think of nothing else."
The third line, "Yamashiro no," refers to the province of Yamashiro and leads to "towa" in the fourth line.
In the fourth line, "towa ni aimimu," "towa" is a pivot word joining the place name Toba in Yamashiro and "towa" (forever); "aimimu" means "let us go on meeting."
The final line, "koto o nomi koso," means "only that," with the closing verb such as "omoe" left unsaid, leaving a lingering resonance.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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