Omowamu to tanomeshi hito wa kawaraji o towarenu ware ya aranu naruran - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

思はむと頼めし人は変はらじを
問はれぬ我やあらぬなるらん

Roma-ji: Omowamu to tanomeshi hito wa kawaraji o towarenu ware ya aranu naruran
English Translation: The one who swore,
"I will always think of you,"
has surely not changed—
is it I, never visited,
who have become someone else
Meaning: The one who made me trust that he would always care for me has surely not changed. Is it I, no longer visited, who have become someone else?
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems III 706

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet says the one who promised to care for her has surely not changed, so perhaps it is she, no longer visited, who has become another person. Without blaming his change of heart, she voices her sorrow at his absence by asking whether she herself has changed.
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," indicating that, like the preceding poem, it is anonymous.

The first line, "Omowamu to," means "that he would love me," with "mu" expressing intention.
The second line, "tanomeshi hito wa," means "the one who made me trust," "tanomu" here meaning to cause another to rely on one.
The third line, "kawaraji o," means "has surely not changed, and yet," with "ji" a negative conjecture and "o" adversative.
The fourth line, "towarenu ware ya," means "I who am not visited," with "ya" an interrogative particle.
The last line, "aranu naruran," means "have I become someone else," closing with the attributive "ran" in answer to "ya" in the fourth line, a kakarimusubi pattern.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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