Wagimoko ga yuiteshi himo o tokame ya mo taeba tayu tomo tada ni au made ni

我妹子が結ひてし紐を解かめやも
絶えば絶ゆとも直に逢ふまでに

Roma-ji: Wagimoko ga yuiteshi himo o tokame ya mo taeba tayu tomo tada ni au made ni
English Translation: The cord my darling
tied for me before I left,
should I untie it?
Though it break, then let it break,
till we meet face to face.
Meaning: Would I untie the cord my beloved tied for me? Let it break if it must, until I meet her face to face.
Commentary: Book Nine Love Poems 1789

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem from the twelfth month, winter, of the first year of Tenpyō, tsuchinoto-mi, with tanka"; envoy
The speaker vows never to untie the cord his wife tied for him, even if it breaks, until he meets her again. It expresses a firm resolve to stay faithful throughout the journey.
This is the second envoy to the long poem 1787 in this book. It rests on the custom of tying each other's garment cords at parting and not untying them until reunion, and responds to the long poem's "sleeping without untying my cord." According to the left note, the five poems from 1785 to this one appear among Kasa no Kanamura's poems.
The author, Kasa no Kanamura, was a court poet of the early Nara period who composed many poems while attending royal progresses in the reigns of Genshō and Shōmu. This poem is taken from the Kanamura Collection, and the left note says it appears among the poems of Kasa no Ason Kanamura.

The first line, "the cord my darling," names his beloved wife.
The second line, "tied for me before I left," responds to the long poem's "without untying my cord."
The third line, "should I untie it?" is rhetorical, and the poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "though it break, then let it break," repeats the verb to show strong resolve.
The final line, "till we meet face to face," answers the frustration of the preceding poem's "though it is not far away" with a resolve to endure until the day of meeting.
Author: Kasa no Kanamura (from the Kanamura Collection)
Source: Manyoshu
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