Na ni shi owaba ausakayama no sanekazura hito ni shirarede kuru yoshi mo gana - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

名にし負はば逢坂山のさねかづら
人に知られでくるよしもがな

Roma-ji: Na ni shi owaba ausakayama no sanekazura hito ni shirarede kuru yoshi mo gana
English Translation: If it bears that name,
the vine on Meeting Hill,
the "lie-together" vine,
then unknown to all, I'd draw it in—
some way to come to you
Meaning: If the sanekazura vine of Ōsaka, the Hill of Meeting, truly bears a name of meeting and lying together, then I wish there were some way, as one draws in a trailing vine, to come to you unseen by anyone.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems III 700

Headnote: "Sent to a woman."
The poet says that if the vine on Ōsaka Hill truly bears names meaning "meeting" and "lying together," he wishes for some way to come to her unknown to others, as one draws in a vine. Entrusting his love to the names of a place and a plant, he pleads for a secret meeting.
According to the headnote, the poem was sent to a woman. It opens Love Poems III and is also included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, making it a widely known poem.
The poet, called "the Sanjō Minister of the Right," was Fujiwara no Sadakata. A son of Palace Minister Fujiwara no Takafuji, he rose to Minister of the Right. He was so called because his residence stood on Sanjō, and he is also known as a patron of poets such as Ki no Tsurayuki and Ōshikōchi no Mitsune.

The first line, "Na ni shi owaba," means "if it bears that name," with "shi" an emphatic particle.
In the second line, "ausakayama no," Ōsaka Hill is a famous poetic place on the border of Yamashiro and Ōmi, its name echoing "au," to meet. In this book Ōsaka also appears in 723, 731, 732, and 786, recurring as a symbol of lovers' meeting.
The third line, "sanekazura," names a trailing vine and is a pivot word that also carries "sa-ne," to lie together. 787 in this book likewise places "sanekazura" in its third line and "kuru" in its fourth, using the same conceit.
The fourth line, "hito ni shirarede," means "without being known to others," with "de" a negative conjunctive particle.
The last line, "kuru yoshi mo gana," means "if only there were a way to come," where "kuru" is a pivot word meaning both "to come" and "to draw in" a vine, a word associated with "sanekazura." "Mo gana" expresses a wish.
Author: Fujiwara no Sadakata
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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