Tachiyoraba kage fumu bakari chikakeredo tare ka Nakoso no seki o sueken - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

立ち寄らば影踏むばかり近けれど
誰かなこその関を据ゑけん

Roma-ji: Tachiyoraba kage fumu bakari chikakeredo tare ka Nakoso no seki o sueken
English Translation: If I drew near,
so close am I that I might
tread upon your shadow—
who then set up here the gate
of Nakoso, "Come not near"
Meaning: If I came close, I am near enough to tread upon your shadow—who, then, set up this barrier of Nakoso, whose very name says "Do not come"?
Commentary: Book Ten Love Poems II 682

Headnote: "When Emperor Uda had taken the tonsure and kept attendants only around his curtained dais, not letting others draw near, she wrote this and tied it to the curtains."
The poet says that though she is close enough to tread on his shadow if she drew near, someone has set up the barrier of Nakoso, whose name means "do not come." She voices her loneliness at no longer being allowed near the retired emperor, who has entered holy orders, by likening it to a barrier gate.
According to the headnote, when Emperor Uda had taken the tonsure and kept people only around his curtained dais, not letting others approach, she wrote this and tied it to the curtains.
The poet, Lady Kohachijō, was an imperial consort who served Emperor Uda, known as Kohachijō.

The first line, "Tachiyoraba," means "if I drew near."
The second line, "kage fumu bakari," means "enough to tread upon your shadow."
The third line, "chikakeredo," means "though it is so close," and the poem pauses here.
In the fourth line, "Nakoso" is a pivot word joining the Nakoso barrier in Michinoku, a poetic place, and "na ko so," do not come. "Ka" is an interrogative particle.
The last line, "seki o sueken," means "set up the barrier?" closing with the attributive "ken" in answer to "ka" in the fourth line, a kakarimusubi pattern.
Author: Lady Kohachijō
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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