Hatsukari no naki koso watare yo no naka no hito no kokoro no aki shi ukereba - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

初雁のなきこそ渡れ世の中の
人の心のあきし憂ければ

Roma-ji: Hatsukari no naki koso watare yo no naka no hito no kokoro no aki shi ukereba
English Translation: Like the first wild geese,
crying, crying, I pass on,
for in this world of ours
the autumn of a person's heart,
its weariness, brings such pain
Meaning: Like the first wild geese that cry as they cross the sky, I spend my days in tears, because the autumn that has come to the heart of the one I love, the weariness toward me, is so painful.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Love Poems V 804

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
As the first geese cross the sky crying, so the speaker passes his days weeping, because autumn, aki, has come to the lover's heart, that is, weariness, also aki. Linking the first geese that herald autumn with the aki of the heart, the poem layers the grief of a change of heart upon the seasonal scene.
The author, "Ki no Tsurayuki," is Ki no Tsurayuki, son of Ki no Mochiyuki. He was the leading compiler of the Kokinshū and wrote its Kana Preface. He served in posts such as Governor of Tosa, and in later years wrote the Tosa Diary. He is one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.

The first line names the first geese of autumn, heralds of the season that lead to aki in the last line. They also appear in the fourth line of poem 776.
In the second line naki means both geese crying and the speaker weeping, and watare means both crossing the sky and passing one's days. Koso is resolved by the perfective watare, and the poem breaks here.
The third line refers to relations between men and women, the same phrase as in poems 795 and 797.
The fourth line names the lover's heart, the same phrase as the fourth lines of 797 and 798.
In the last line aki is a pivot word, meaning both autumn and weariness. Shi is emphatic, and ukereba gives the reason, stating by inversion the cause of the second line.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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