Suga no ne no nemokorogoro ni teru hi ni mo hime ya waga sode imo ni awazu shite

菅の根のねもころごろに照る日にも
干めや我が袖妹に逢はずして

Roma-ji: Suga no ne no nemokorogoro ni teru hi ni mo hime ya waga sode imo ni awazu shite
English Translation: Like the sedge's roots,
thoroughly, through and through,
though the sun blaze down,
would my sleeves ever dry
while I cannot meet my love
Meaning: Even under a sun that shines down thoroughly on everything, would my sleeves ever dry, so long as I cannot meet my beloved?
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 2857

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
The poet laments that no matter how strongly the sun shines, sleeves wet with the tears of not meeting the beloved will never dry. The contrast between the blazing sun and the sleeves that will not dry emphasizes a sorrow whose tears never end.
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.

Line one, "suga no ne no," is a pillow word: because sedge roots are long and tangled, it leads to "nemokoro," which shares the sound "ne." Poem 3054 in this book also has "suga no ne no nemokorogoro ni."
Line two, "nemokorogoro ni," means "thoroughly," describing here the sun shining down on everything.
Line three, "teru hi ni mo," means "even in the blazing sun."
Line four, "hime ya waga sode": "hime ya" is a rhetorical question, "would they dry? No, they would not," referring to sleeves wet with tears.
Line five, "imo ni awazu shite," means "as long as I do not meet her," and stands in inverted order with line four.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
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