Nakanaka ni omoikakete wa karakoromo mi ni narenu o zo uramu beranaru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

なかなかに思ひかけては唐衣
身になれぬをぞうらむべらなる

Roma-ji: Nakanaka ni omoikakete wa karakoromo mi ni narenu o zo uramu beranaru
English Translation: Far better had I not
hung my heart upon you so—
like a Chinese robe
that never fits close to me,
I grieve, it seems, at the lining
Meaning: Having set my heart on you to no purpose, I seem to resent that, like a Chinese robe that never settles on the body, I cannot grow close to you.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems IV 848

Headnote: "Sent to a woman."
The poet says that having set his heart on her to no purpose, he seems to resent that, like a Chinese robe that will not fit the body, they cannot grow close. Hanging his longing on her as one hangs a robe on a rack, he sings of the bitterness of a love that never draws near, linking word after word associated with clothing.
According to the headnote, the poem was sent to a woman. The next poem, 849, is the reply, and the two form an exchange.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Nakanaka ni," means "to no purpose, all the worse."
The second line, "omoikakete wa," means "having set my heart on you," with "kake" also meaning to hang a robe, a word associated with "karakoromo" in the third line. The next poem, 849, answers with the same word in "kakete koso mime."
The third line, "karakoromo," a fine Chinese-style robe, leads into "mi ni nare" in the fourth line. 804 in this book and the next poem, 849, also set "karakoromo" in their third lines.
The fourth line, "mi ni narenu o zo," means "that it does not settle on me," layering a robe fitting the body with growing intimate with someone. "Zo" is an emphatic binding particle.
The last line, "uramu beranaru," means "I seem to resent," with "uramu" joining the "lining" of a robe and "resentment." "Beranari" expresses conjecture and closes in the attributive in answer to "zo" in the fourth line.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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