classic waka stream

足柄のわを可鶏山のかづの木の
我をかづさねも門さかずとも
Roma-ji

Ashigari no wa o kakeyama no kazu no ki no wa o kazusane mo kazusakazu tomo

English Translation
On Ashigara,
on the hill named Wa-o-kake,
the kazu tree grows:
take me, coax me out to you,
even if your gate stays shut.
Meaning
Like the kazu tree on Mount Kake in Ashigara, call me out and lead me away—even if you do not open the gate.
Commentary
Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3432

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Allegorical Poems"
Drawing on the name of the kazu tree on Mount Kake in Ashigara, the singer asks to be coaxed out, even without the gate being opened. It is a folk-song piece built around wordplay that repeats the sound "kazu."
It is one of the Sagami allegories. The kazu tree is thought to be the nurude (Chinese sumac). Many words are obscure, and parts of the poem remain unsettled.
The poet is unknown. The Azuma uta are thought to have been sung among the people of the eastern provinces, and they are marked by plain, open-hearted expression mixed with local dialect.

First line, "ashigari no": Ashigara in Sagami, the same opening as the preceding poem.
Second line, "wa o kakeyama no": "Wa o" means "me," and the name Kake echoes "kakeru," to set one's heart on.
Third line, "kazu no ki no": "Kazu no ki" is thought to be the nurude tree, and its sound "kazu" leads to the next line. The first three lines form a preface.
Fourth line, "wa o kazusane mo": "Kazusane" is thought to mean "please lure me out," and "mo" is exclamatory.
Final line, "kazusakazu tomo": "Kazusakazu" is thought to mean without opening the gate, closing on the repeated sound "kazu."
Source
Manyoshu
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