Ōnusa no hikute amata ni narinureba omoedo e koso tanomazarikere - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

大幣の引く手あまたになりぬれば
思へどえこそ頼まざりけれ

Roma-ji: Ōnusa no hikute amata ni narinureba omoedo e koso tanomazarikere
English Translation: Like the great wand
that so many hands draw near,
so many draw you;
though I love you, even so
I cannot rely on you.
Meaning: Like the great purification wand that so many hands reach out to pull, you are drawn by so many that, love you as I may, I cannot bring myself to trust you.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 706

Headnote: "Composed and sent by a woman who believed that Ariwara no Narihira went about visiting women here and there without settling on one"
A woman who believed that Narihira was visiting women here and there sent him this poem. Likening him to the great purification wand that people pull toward themselves to stroke their bodies after a rite, she reproaches him: with so many hands reaching for him, she cannot rely on him.
The next poem, 707, is Narihira's reply, and the two form an exchange; the same exchange also appears in section 47 of The Tales of Ise. The same phrasing, "hau ki amata ni narinureba," is used in 709 of this book, repeating the lament over a fickle lover.

The first line, "ōnusa no," refers to the great wand used in purification rites; since people pulled it toward themselves afterward to stroke their bodies and transfer their impurities to it, it leads to "hikute" (pulling hands) in the second line.
The second line, "hikute amata ni," means "with many hands pulling," likening the many women who invite Narihira to the great wand.
The third line, "narinureba," means "since it has come to be so," the perfective form of "nu" with "ba" giving a definite condition.
The fourth line, "omoedo e koso," means "though I love you, I cannot," "e" being an adverb of impossibility paired with a negative, and the particle "koso" forming a kakari-musubi with the last line.
The final line, "tanomazarikere," means "I cannot rely on you," closing with "kere," the perfective form of the exclamatory "keri," in answer to "koso."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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