Karakoromo suso no uchikae awanedomo keshiki kokoro o a ga mowanaku ni

韓衣裾のうち交へ逢はねども
異しき心を我が思はなくに

Roma-ji: Karakoromo suso no uchikae awanedomo keshiki kokoro o a ga mowanaku ni
English Translation: A Chinese robe's
skirts that do not overlap—
though we do not meet,
no fickle, wandering heart
do I hold within, my love.
Meaning: Like the skirts of a Chinese robe that do not overlap, we do not meet—yet I hold no fickle heart toward you.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3482

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
Though they cannot meet, like the skirts of a Chinese-style robe that never overlap, the singer insists he has no wandering heart. A love unchanged even when apart is expressed through the image of a robe.
It is one of the love exchanges. The left note gives a variant from another book: "karakoromo suso no uchikai awanaeba nenae no kara ni kototakaritsumo."
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, "karakoromo": "Karakoromo," a continental-style robe, is a pillow word for "skirts."
Second line, "suso no uchikae": The overlap of the skirts; the Chinese robe is said to have been cut so the skirts did not overlap. The first two lines form a preface.
Third line, "awanedomo": "Though we do not meet," with "domo" concessive.
Fourth line, "keshiki kokoro o": "Keshiki" means unusual, fickle.
Final line, "a ga mowanaku ni": "Naku ni" is an exclamatory negative: I do not hold such a heart.
Source: Manyoshu
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