Au koto no katano e tote zo ware wa yuku mi o onaji na ni omoinashitsutsu - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

逢ふことのかたのへとてぞ我はゆく
身を同じ名に思ひなしつつ

Roma-ji: Au koto no katano e tote zo ware wa yuku mi o onaji na ni omoinashitsutsu
English Translation: Since meeting is hard,
to Katano, place of "hard,"
that is where I go—
taking myself to bear
that very same name as well
Meaning: I am on my way to Katano, whose name speaks of how hard it is to meet—for I take myself to bear the same name, since meeting you is so hard.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems V 917

Headnote: "Composed when a woman hard to win saw him passing in front of her house and called out to ask where he was going."
The poet says he is going to Katano, whose name holds "kata," hard, taking himself to bear the same name. Joining the place name Katano with how hard it is to meet, he wraps his resentment toward a woman who will not see him in a witty answer.
According to the headnote, a woman who would not grant his wishes saw him passing her house and called out to ask where he was going, and he answered with this. Asked his destination, he answers with a place name and lightly conveys his grievance at not being able to meet her.
The poet, listed as "Fujiwara no Tameyo," is thought to be Fujiwara no Tameyo, but little more is known of his life.

The first line, "Au koto no," means "of meeting," reaching "kata" in the second line.
The second line, "katano e tote zo," means "thinking it is to Katano," with "kata" joining "kata," hard, in meeting and the place name Katano. "Zo" is an emphatic binding particle.
The third line, "ware wa yuku," means "I go," closing the "zo" of the second line with the attributive. The poem pauses here, inverted with what follows.
The fourth line, "mi o onaji na ni," means "myself as of the same name," a self for whom meeting is hard.
The last line, "omoinashitsutsu," means "taking it to be so," with "tsutsu" a conjunctive particle of continuing action.
Author: Fujiwara no Tameyo
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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