Kamunabi ni himoroki tatete iwaedomo hito no kokoro wa mamori aenu mono

神なびにひもろき立てて斎へども
人の心はまもりあへぬもの

Roma-ji: Kamunabi ni himoroki tatete iwaedomo hito no kokoro wa mamori aenu mono
English Translation: Though at the god's grove
I set up the sacred tree
and keep it holy,
the heart of another
is a thing none can guard
Meaning: Though I set up a sacred tree in the god's grove and keep myself pure in worship, the human heart is something that cannot be fully guarded.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2657

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
Though one sets up a sacred tree in the god's grove and purifies oneself to keep watch, the human heart alone cannot be guarded: so this poem laments. Through the rites of worship, it resents a lover's heart that will not follow one's wishes however devoutly one prays.
Following the sacred zelkova of Karu in the preceding poem, this poem too speaks through the worship of the gods. Where the preceding poem tells of a hidden wife as unapproachable as a sacred tree, this one laments that even prayer cannot guard a human heart, and both express through divine rites a love that will not go as one would wish.
The author is unknown. The anonymous poems of Book Eleven gather the love poems of people whose names have not come down to us.

First line, "kamunabi ni": "at the god's grove," a sacred wood or mountain where a deity descends and dwells.
Second line, "himoroki tatete": "setting up a himoroki," a sacred site where evergreen trees are raised and fenced as a dwelling for the god.
Third line, "iwaedomo": "though I purify myself and worship." The concessive "domo" turns the poem toward its second half.
Fourth line, "hito no kokoro wa": "the human heart." The particle "wa" singles out the heart that cannot be guarded even by worship.
Fifth line, "mamori aenu mono": "a thing that cannot be fully guarded." "Mamoru" means to watch closely and "aenu" means unable to do fully; the poem ends on the noun "mono."
Source: Manyoshu
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