Azumaji ni yukikau hito ni aranu mi wa itsu ka wa koemu ausaka no seki - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

東路に行きかふ人にあらぬ身は
いつかは越えむ逢坂の関

Roma-ji: Azumaji ni yukikau hito ni aranu mi wa itsu ka wa koemu ausaka no seki
English Translation: I am not one
who travels back and forth
on the eastern road—
when, then, should I ever cross
the barrier of Meeting Hill
Meaning: I am no traveler coming and going on the road to the east, so when would I ever cross the Ōsaka Barrier?
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems III 732

Headnote: "Reply."
In this reply the poet says that since she is no traveler on the eastern road, she will never cross the Ōsaka Barrier. Declaring that she is not one to pass the barrier on the way east, she refuses to meet him.
It is the reply to the preceding poem, 731. It too ends with "Ausaka no seki," taking up his very words to turn them back on him.
The poet, listed as "Ono no Yoshifuru Ason no musume," was a daughter of Ono no Yoshifuru. Her father, a grandson of Ono no Takamura, served as Consultant and is known for helping to put down the rebellion of Fujiwara no Sumitomo.

The first line, "Azumaji ni," means "on the road to the east." The Ōsaka Barrier stood on the road from the capital to the eastern provinces.
The second line, "yukikau hito ni," means "a person going back and forth."
The third line, "aranu mi wa," means "I who am not." She answers the "mi" of "mi wa isogedomo" in the second line of the preceding poem with her own "mi."
The fourth line, "itsu ka wa koemu," means "when would I cross," with "ka" a rhetorical particle closing on the attributive "mu," a kakarimusubi pattern. It takes up "nado koegataki" in the fourth line of the preceding poem.
The last line, "ausaka no seki," is the same as the last line of the preceding poem, answering him with his own words. It ends on a noun.
Author: Daughter of Ono no Yoshifuru
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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