Asa goto ni oku tsuyu sode ni uketamete yo no uki toki no namida ni zo karu - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

朝ごとに置く露袖に受けためて
世の憂き時の涙にぞ借る

Roma-ji: Asa goto ni oku tsuyu sode ni uketamete yo no uki toki no namida ni zo karu
English Translation: Every morning's dew
I catch upon my sleeves
and store it there,
to borrow it as tears
when the world grows hard to bear
Meaning: Each morning I catch the falling dew in my sleeves and store it, to borrow as tears when the world becomes too hard to bear.
Commentary: Book Six Autumn Poems II 315

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet says that the dew that settles every morning is caught and stored in the sleeves, to be borrowed as tears when the world becomes hard to bear. Reversing the conceit of seeing the dew on the sleeves as tears, it wittily makes dew a store of tears.
From 313 to 316, poems follow one another that overlay the dew on the sleeves with tears.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us. The text gives the poet as "yomibito mo," which is treated here as "anonymous."

The first line, "Asa goto ni," means "every morning."
The second line, "oku tsuyu sode ni," means "the settling dew, on my sleeves."
The third line, "uketamete," means "catching and storing," showing the dew being stored in the sleeves.
The fourth line, "yo no uki toki no," means "for times when the world is hard."
The last line, "namida ni zo karu," means "I borrow it as tears," with the particle "zo" and the attributive "karu" forming a kakarimusubi pattern. Where the preceding poems saw dew on the sleeves as tears, this one makes the dew a substitute for tears.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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