Shirakawa no taki no ito mimahoshikeredo midari ni hito wa yoseji mono o ya - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

白河の滝のいと見まほしけれど
みだりに人は寄せじものをや

Roma-ji: Shirakawa no taki no ito mimahoshikeredo midari ni hito wa yoseji mono o ya
English Translation: The Shirakawa Falls,
their threads, I'd so dearly love
to see, and yet
I doubt you'd let anyone
come near them carelessly
Meaning: I would so dearly love to see the threads of the Shirakawa Falls, and yet I suppose you would not let anyone come near them so carelessly.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1086

Headnote: "When I had moved to the Chancellor's house at Shirakawa and was shut up in someone's chamber."
The poet says she would dearly love to see the threads of the Shirakawa Falls, though surely no one would be allowed near them so carelessly. Seeing the falling water as threads and letting "ito" and "midari" echo thread imagery, she hints to the master of the house that she would like to be shown the falls.
According to the headnote, she was staying at the Shirakawa house of the Chancellor, Fujiwara no Tadahira, shut up in someone's chamber. Tadahira's reply follows in the next poem, forming an exchange on the Shirakawa Falls.
The poet, Nakatsukasa, was a daughter of Prince Atsuyoshi, son of Emperor Uda, and the poet Ise. Named after her father's post as Minister of Central Affairs, she is counted among the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.

The first line, "Shirakawa no," means "of Shirakawa," the place where Tadahira's mansion stood. The next poem opens with the same "shirakawa no."
The second line, "taki no ito mima," means "to see the threads of the falls, so much," with "ito" joining "thread," the falling water, and "ito," very. "Taki no ito" also appears in the second line of the next poem.
The third line, "hoshikeredo," completes "mimahoshikeredo" from the second line, meaning "though I wish to see," with "mahoshi" an auxiliary of desire and "do" adversative.
The fourth line, "midari ni hito wa," means "anyone, carelessly," with "midari" echoing the tangling of thread as a related word.
The last line, "yoseji mono o ya," means "you would not let them near, I suppose," with "ji" negative conjecture and "mono o" and "ya" exclamatory.
Author: Nakatsukasa
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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