Ashihiki no yamai wa su tomo fumi kayou ato o mo minu wa kurushiki mono o - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あしひきのやまひはすともふみ通ふ
あとをも見ぬは苦しきものを

Roma-ji: Ashihiki no yamai wa su tomo fumi kayou ato o mo minu wa kurushiki mono o
English Translation: Though you may be ill,
like a hard mountain to climb,
not to see the trace
of a letter's footsteps here
is so painful a thing
Meaning: Even if you are unwell, not to see so much as the trace of your hand in a letter is painful to me.
Commentary: Book Ten Love Poems II 632

Headnote: "He sent a letter to a woman with whom he had been exchanging words, but she did not reply, saying she felt unwell, so he sent this."
The poet says that even if she is ill, it is painful not to see even the trace of her hand in a letter. To a woman who will not reply because she is unwell, he pleads for even a single line.
According to the headnote, he sent a letter to a woman he had been exchanging words with, but she did not reply, saying she felt unwell, so he sent this one.
The poet, Ōe no Asatsuna, was a grandson of Ōe no Otondo and served as Consultant. He is known as a scholar gifted in Chinese poetry and prose and in calligraphy.

The first line, "Ashihiki no," is a pillow word for "mountain," leading to "yama" in "yamai" in the second line.
In the second line, "yamai" is a pivot word joining "yama," mountain, and "yamai," illness: "even if you are ill."
In the third line, "fumi" is a pivot word joining "fumi," letter, and "fumi," treading the mountain, an associated word with the mountain.
In the fourth line, "ato" is a pivot word joining the trace of handwriting and footprints left on the mountain: "not to see even the trace."
The last line, "kurushiki mono o," means "is so painful," with "mono o" expressing an exclamation with a sense of protest.
Author: Ōe no Asatsuna
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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