classic waka stream

藤白の御坂を越ゆと白栲の
我が衣手は濡れにけるかも
Roma-ji

Fujishiro no misaka o koyu to shirotae no waga koromode wa nure ni keru kamo

English Translation
At Fujishiro,
as I cross the sacred slope,
my robe of white cloth—
its sleeves have become all wet,
soaked right through, alas.
Meaning
As I crossed the sacred slope of Fujishiro, the sleeves of my white robe became soaked through.
Commentary
Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems 1675

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thirteen poems from the time when the Retired Sovereign and the Late Sovereign made a progress to the province of Kii in the tenth month, winter, of the first year of Taihō, kanoto-ushi"
Crossing the slope of Fujishiro, the speaker finds the sleeves of his white robe wet. The reason is not stated, but Fujishiro is where Prince Arima was executed, and the wetness is read as tears shed in memory of that tragedy.
This is the ninth of the thirteen poems from the progress to Kii in the first year of Taihō (701). The slope of Fujishiro lies in Fujishiro, present-day Kainan, Wakayama, a key point on the road toward Kumano. The Nihon Shoki records that in the fourth year of Saimei (658) Prince Arima was strangled here on a charge of treason.

The first line, "at Fujishiro," gives the name of the slope.
The second line, "as I cross the sacred slope," uses mi as an honorific, expressing awe toward the god felt to dwell at the pass.
The third line, "my robe of white cloth," is shirotae no, a pillow word meaning white cloth and leading to robes and sleeves.
The fourth line, "its sleeves have become," is marked by the particle wa, which singles out the sleeves.
The final line, "soaked right through, alas," combines the perfective ni, the past keru, and the exclamatory kamo. By leaving the cause unsaid, the poem hints at tears for Prince Arima.
Source
Manyoshu
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