Tamakazura hau ki amata ni narinureba taenu kokoro no ureshige mo nashi - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

玉葛這ふ木あまたになりぬれば
絶えぬ心のうれしげもなし

Roma-ji: Tamakazura hau ki amata ni narinureba taenu kokoro no ureshige mo nashi
English Translation: Like the jeweled vine
that creeps upon so many trees,
now you have so many;
that your heart does not break off
brings me no joy at all.
Meaning: Like a jeweled vine that has come to climb so many trees, you now have so many loves that even the fact that you have not broken with me brings me no joy.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 709

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Just as the jeweled vine twines around tree after tree, the man now visits many women, and so the speaker laments that even his heart's not breaking off with her brings no joy. Through words associated with vines it leads to "taenu" (unbroken), expressing mixed feelings toward a fickle lover.
The phrase "amata ni narinureba" spanning the second and third lines has the same form as "hikute amata ni narinureba" in 706 of this book, and the two share the lament over a fickle lover.

The first line, "tamakazura," is an elegant name for a vine, and from the stretching of vines it brings in associated words such as "hau" (creep) and "tae" (break off).
The second line, "hau ki amata ni," means "with many trees to creep upon," likening the many women the man visits to trees.
The third line, "narinureba," means "since it has come to be so," a definite condition using the same line as 706.
The fourth line, "taenu kokoro no," refers to the lover's heart that has not broken off with her, "tae" being an associated word of the vine.
The final line, "ureshige mo nashi," means "there is no gladness in it," negating "ureshi" (glad) with the suffix "ge."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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