Miyako made hibiki kayoeru karakoto wa nami no o sugete zo hikikeru - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

都まで響き通へるからことは
波の緒すげてぞ弾きける

Roma-ji: Miyako made hibiki kayoeru karakoto wa nami no o sugete zo hikikeru
English Translation: Its sound has carried
all the way to the capital—
the koto of Karakoto
strings the waves as its cords
and so it has been played.
Meaning: The koto of Karakoto, whose sound carries all the way to the capital, has the waves strung as its cords, and so it is played.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems I 921

Headnote: "Composed at a place called Karakoto"
Composed at a place called Karakoto, playing on its name. The shore of Karakoto, whose fame resounds even in the capital, strings the incoming waves as koto cords and plays them, likening the place name to the Chinese koto.
The author, "Shinsei Hōshi," is a monk whose life is little known.
The last line of the main text reads "zo hikikeru," which does not match "kaze zo hikikeru" in the reading line. Here the main text is followed. The received text reads "kaze zo hikikeru," understanding that the wind plays the strings of waves.

First line "miyako made" shows that the fame of Karakoto reaches even the distant capital.
Second line "hibiki kayoeru" overlays the sound of the koto resounding and the spread of renown.
Third line "karakoto wa" is a pivot word joining the place name Karakoto and the instrument karakoto. In this book, poems on waterfalls continue from the next poem, 922, through 930.
Fourth line "nami no o sugete" means stringing the waves as the koto's cords; o is a cord and sugu is to thread and stretch.
Fifth line "zo hikikeru" closes zo with the attributive keru: so it was played. "Resound," "cord," and "play" are associated words of "koto."
Author: The Monk Shinsei
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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