Hitogoto no shigeki toki ni wa wagimoko shi koromo ni ariseba shita ni kimashi o

人言の繁き時には我妹子し
衣にありせば下に着ましを

Roma-ji: Hitogoto no shigeki toki ni wa wagimoko shi koromo ni ariseba shita ni kimashi o
English Translation: When the people's talk
grows thick around us,
if my darling girl
were only a robe,
I would wear her underneath
Meaning: When gossip runs thick, if only my beloved were a robe, I would wear her hidden underneath, close to my skin.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 2852

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
This is a man's poem wishing that, when gossip keeps them apart, his beloved were a robe that he could wear underneath and never part from. His desire to stay with her hidden from others' eyes is entrusted to the image of a robe.
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro was a court poet who served under Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu. The left note shows that this poem was taken from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection, though scholars differ on whether it is Hitomaro's own work or a song he recorded.
In poem 2964 in this book, a woman sings "if you were a robe, I would wear you underneath," showing the same idea with the roles reversed.

Line one, "hitogoto no," refers to the gossip of the world.
Line two, "shigeki toki ni wa," means "at times when the talk runs thick."
Line three, "wagimoko shi": "shi" is an emphatic particle, stressing "my darling, if only she."
Line four, "koromo ni ariseba": "seba" corresponds to "mashi" in line five in a counterfactual construction, "if she were a robe."
Line five, "shita ni kimashi o," means "I would wear her underneath," showing the wish to keep her close and hidden from others. Following the "under-sash" of the preceding poem, the contrast of outer and under continues.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
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