classic waka stream

唐衣たつを惜しみし心こそ
ふたむら山の関となりけめ
Roma-ji

Karakoromo tatsu o oshimishi kokoro koso futamurayama no seki to narikeme

English Translation
Like Chinese robes
cut to shape, I grieved your going—
it was that heart
that must have stood on Futamura
as a barrier to stop you
Meaning
As one cuts a Chinese robe, I grieved that you must set out, and it was surely that grieving heart which became the barrier on Futamura Mountain and held you back.
Commentary
Book Eleven Love Poems III 713

Headnote: "Reply."
In this reply the poet says it must have been her heart, grieving his departure, that became the barrier on Futamura Mountain and stopped him. She answers with joy that he returned because her heart held him back like a barrier gate.
It is the reply to the preceding poem, 712, using words associated with clothing to match the silk he sent.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us. According to the headnote, it is the poem of the woman the poet of the preceding poem had come to know.

The first line, "Karakoromo," is a fine Chinese-style robe, used as a pillow word leading to "tatsu," to cut. Answering "kurehatori" in the preceding poem, she replies with a word for clothing.
In the second line, "tatsu o oshimishi," "tatsu" is a pivot word meaning both "to set out" on a journey and "to cut" cloth, the latter associated with "karakoromo" in the first line.
In the third line, "kokoro koso," "koso" is an emphatic particle.
The fourth line, "futamurayama no," takes up "futamurayama mo" in the fourth line of the preceding poem, a pivot word joining the place name with the "two lengths" of silk he sent.
The last line, "seki to nariken," means "must have become a barrier," closing with the perfective "keme" in answer to "koso" in the third line, a kakarimusubi pattern.
Author
Unknown Poet
Source
Gosen Wakashu
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