Kimi ga tame yamada no sawa ni egu tsumu to nure ni shi sode wa ima mo kawakazu - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

君がため山田の沢にゑぐ摘むと
濡れにし袖は今も乾かず

Roma-ji: Kimi ga tame yamada no sawa ni egu tsumu to nure ni shi sode wa ima mo kawakazu
English Translation: For you, for your sake,
in the marsh by the mountain field
I gathered egu,
and the sleeves that I wet then
have not dried, even now
Meaning: For your sake I went to gather egu in the marsh by the mountain paddy, and the sleeves I soaked then are not dry even now.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems I 37

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
The poet gathered egu in a marsh by a mountain paddy for a beloved, and the sleeves wetted then have still not dried. One may read in the undrying sleeves the tears shed in longing, or a devotion that goes unrewarded.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.
Book Ten of the Man'yōshū contains a similar poem telling of gathering egu for a beloved in the marsh by a mountain paddy, the hem of the skirt soaked in water of melting snow.

The first line, "For you, for your sake," shows devotion to the beloved.
The second line, "in the marsh by the mountain field," names a marsh beside a paddy among the hills.
The third line, "I gathered egu," refers to gathering egu, a plant growing in early spring marshes. Like the poems on gathering young greens that began with 5 in this book, it sings of plucking plants in the spring fields.
The fourth line, "the sleeves that I wet then," shows the sleeves soaked in marsh water while gathering.
The last line, "have not dried, even now," hints that the poet weeps so that the sleeves cannot dry.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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