Ureshige ni kimi ga tanomeshi koto no ha wa katami ni kumeru mizu ni zo arikeru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

うれしげに君が頼めし言の葉は
かたみに汲める水にぞありける

Roma-ji: Ureshige ni kimi ga tanomeshi koto no ha wa katami ni kumeru mizu ni zo arikeru
English Translation: The words you gave me,
so happy, for me to trust,
were but water, I find,
drawn up in a woven basket
that we each held in turn
Meaning: The words you so happily gave me to rely on were only water scooped up in a loose-woven basket, slipping away between us.
Commentary: Book Nine Love Poems I 558

Headnote: "After they had become lovers, he sent no word for a long time."
The poet says that the words he so happily gave her to rely on were only water scooped in a loose-woven basket, slipping away. She laments the emptiness of the promises of a lover who sent no word after they had exchanged vows.
According to the headnote, she composed it because, after they had become lovers, he sent no word for a long time.
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, "Ureshige ni," means "so happily."
The second line, "kimi ga tanomeshi," means "that you gave me to rely on," with "tanome" in the lower bigrade conjugation meaning "to raise hopes."
The third line, "koto no ha wa," means "the words."
In the fourth line, "katami" is a pivot word meaning both "katami," a loose-woven bamboo basket, and "katami ni," mutually.
The last line, "mizu ni zo arikeru," means "were only water," saying the promises vanished as water leaks from a basket. The particle "zo" and the attributive "keru" form a kakarimusubi pattern.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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