Ametsuchi to iu na no taete araba koso imashi to are to au koto yamame

天地といふ名の絶えてあらばこそ
汝と我れと逢ふことやまめ

Roma-ji: Ametsuchi to iu na no taete araba koso imashi to are to au koto yamame
English Translation: Only should the name
of heaven and earth fade away
and be known no more,
then might our meeting, yours and mine,
come at last to have an end
Meaning: Only if the very name of heaven and earth should vanish would our meetings, yours and mine, ever come to an end.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2419

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
Only if the very name of heaven and earth were to vanish would the meetings of the two come to an end, which is to say they never will: the poem is a vow of eternal love. By setting an impossible condition, it declares powerfully that their bond will never break.
Speaking through heaven and earth, this poem follows the poems about gods by invoking the vastness of heaven and earth. Whereas the preceding poem, 2418, laments that the lovers cannot meet even in dreams, this one declares that their meetings will last forever, so lament over not meeting and a vow of endless meeting stand in contrast.
The author is unknown; according to the left note, the poem comes from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection. That collection is thought to contain both Hitomaro's own poems and poems by others that he recorded. Kakinomoto no Hitomaro was a court poet active in the reigns of Empress Jito and Emperor Monmu, and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "ametsuchi to": "heaven and earth," named as the very emblem of what never changes.
Second line, "iu na no taete": "the name ... should vanish." It supposes the loss not only of heaven and earth but even of their name.
Third line, "araba koso": "only if that were so." The binding particle "koso" attached to the conditional "ba" forms a kakari-musubi with the realis "me" in the last line. The poem pauses here.
Fourth line, "imashi to are to": "you and I." "Imashi" is a word for addressing someone close.
Fifth line, "au koto yamame": "would our meeting cease." "Me," the realis form of the conjectural "mu," closes the kakari-musubi begun by "koso." Bound to an impossible condition, it means that their meetings will never end.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
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