Wagimoko ni koishi watareba tsurugitachi na no oshikeku mo omoi kanetsu mo

我妹子に恋ひしわたれば剣大刀
名の惜しけくも思ひかねつも

Roma-ji: Wagimoko ni koishi watareba tsurugitachi na no oshikeku mo omoi kanetsu mo
English Translation: For my dearest one
as I go on longing so,
like a sword's own name,
the loss of my good repute
I can care for it no more
Meaning: Because I have gone on longing for my beloved for so long, I can no longer bring myself to care even about losing my good name.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2499

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
As he goes on longing for his beloved, the speaker says he can no longer even regret the rumors that would stain his name. The poem shows a love that has grown beyond any concern for others' eyes or one's reputation.
Following the preceding poem, it too sings of the sword, but here uses it as a pillow word for "name," so that two poems on swords stand side by side. The tension between guarding one's name and giving way to love is a frequent theme in Man'yoshu love poems.
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, "wagimoko ni": "for my dear beloved." "Wagimoko" is the affectionate word a man uses for his sweetheart or wife.
Second line, "koishi watareba": "since I go on longing." "Shi" is an emphatic particle and "wataru" means to pass time continually; its realis form with "ba" gives the reason.
Third line, "tsurugitachi": a pillow word attached to "na" (name) in the fourth line. A blade's edge was called "na," and so it attaches to the homophone "name"; it answers the "tsurugitachi" of the preceding poem.
Fourth line, "na no oshikeku mo": "even that my name is precious." "Oshikeku" is a nominalized form of the adjective "oshi" (precious, regrettable), expressing reluctance to lose one's reputation through rumor.
Fifth line, "omoi kanetsu mo": "I can no longer bear to think of." "Kanu" means to be unable to do, "tsu" is perfective, and "mo" is exclamatory, closing with a lament that even concern for his name has gone.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
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