Tokikinu no omoi midarete kouredomo nazo na ga yue to tou hito mo naki

解き衣の思ひ乱れて恋ふれども
なぞ汝がゆゑと問ふ人もなき

Roma-ji: Tokikinu no omoi midarete kouredomo nazo na ga yue to tou hito mo naki
English Translation: Like an unstitched robe
I am tangled in my thoughts,
yearning though I am,
yet "Why so, and for what cause?"
there is no one who asks me
Meaning: Like a robe with its seams undone, I am thrown into disorder by my thoughts as I yearn, yet there is no one who asks me, "Why is it so with you, and for what cause?"
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2620

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
Like a robe whose seams have been undone and fallen apart, the speaker is thrown into confusion by love, yet no one even asks the reason: this is a love poem of lament. It conveys the loneliness of a secret love that can neither be confessed nor noticed by others.
The headnote continues from the preceding poem, "Expressing Feelings through Things," and this poem speaks of a heart in disarray through an unstitched robe. Following the Korean robe of the preceding poem, 2619, it is another poem on robes, and the series continues with the printed robe of the next poem, 2621, and the salt-burner's robe of 2622.
The author is unknown. The anonymous poems of Book Eleven gather love poems by people whose names have not come down to us.

First line, "tokikinu no": "like an unstitched robe," a robe whose sewing threads have been undone; from its scattered state it is a pillow word attached to "midaru" (to be disordered). It is the object through which this poem speaks.
Second line, "omoi midarete": "tangled in thought." Taking up the pillow word, it describes a heart that cannot gather itself and is scattered in a thousand directions.
Third line, "kouredomo": "though I yearn." "Domo" is a concessive particle linking to the lament of the lower lines that no one asks.
Fourth line, "nazo na ga yue to": quoting the question "Why so, and what is your reason?" "Na" (you) is the speaker as seen by the one who would ask, and "to" marks the quotation.
Fifth line, "tou hito mo naki": "there is no one who asks." The poem ends on "naki," the attributive form of "nashi," leaving the statement open and filled with lingering feeling.
Source: Manyoshu
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