Tsure mo naki hito ni makeji to seshi hodo ni ware mo adana wa tachi zo shinikeru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

つれもなき人に負けじとせしほどに
我もあだ名は立ちぞしにける

Roma-ji: Tsure mo naki hito ni makeji to seshi hodo ni ware mo adana wa tachi zo shinikeru
English Translation: While I strove
not to lose to one
so cold and distant,
I too found a fickle name
had risen up for me
Meaning: While I was set on not losing to someone so cold, I too, it seems, have gained a name for fickleness.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems III 733

Headnote: "Sent to a woman."
The poet says that while he strove not to be outdone by one so cold, a fickle name arose for him as well. He reproaches her, saying that in holding his own against her coldness he has come to be rumored as faithless himself.
According to the headnote, the poem was sent to a woman.
The poet, written "Fujiwara no Kiyotada" in kana in the text, was Fujiwara no Kiyotada. A son of Fujiwara no Kanesuke, he served as Governor of Kii among other posts and is one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.

The first line, "Tsure mo naki," means "cold, unfeeling."
The second line, "hito ni makeji to," means "not to lose to her," with "ji" expressing negative intention.
The third line, "seshi hodo ni," means "while I strove."
The fourth line, "ware mo adana wa," means "for me too, a name for fickleness." The "mo" of "ware mo" means "I too, like that cold one."
The last line, "tachi zo shinikeru," means "has arisen," with "zo" an emphatic particle closing on the attributive "keru," a kakarimusubi pattern.
Author: Fujiwara no Kiyotada
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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