Koi wa ima wa araji to ware wa omoeru o izuku no koi zo tsukamikakareru

恋は今はあらじと我れは思へるを
いづくの恋ぞつかみかかれる

Roma-ji: Koi wa ima wa araji to ware wa omoeru o izuku no koi zo tsukamikakareru
English Translation: Love, I thought, was done,
there'd be none for me again,
so I told myself;
from where did this love come now,
seizing hold and grabbing me
Meaning: I thought love was over for me now, but from where has this love come to seize hold of me?
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 695

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Two poems by Princess Hirokawa"
She thought she was done with love, yet from somewhere a love has seized hold of her. The bold personification of love as something that grabs a person conveys with humor her surprise at falling in love unexpectedly.
The author, Princess Hirokawa, was according to the headnote's note a granddaughter of Prince Hozumi and daughter of Prince Kamitsumichi.

First line, "Love, I thought, was done," runs to six syllables: love, now.
Second line, "there'd be none for me again," uses the negative conjectural ji: there would be none, I.
Third line, "so I told myself," uses the concessive o: though I thought so.
Fourth line, "from where did this love come now," means love from where, with zo closed by ru in the fifth line.
Fifth line, "seizing hold and grabbing me," means has seized me, a personification of love.
Author: Princess Hirokawa
Source: Manyoshu
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