Hito no oya no kokoro wa yami ni aranedomo ko o omou michi ni madoinuru kana - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

人の親の心は闇にあらねども
子を思ふ道にまどひぬるかな

Roma-ji: Hito no oya no kokoro wa yami ni aranedomo ko o omou michi ni madoinuru kana
English Translation: A parent's heart
is not a thing of darkness,
and yet, it seems,
on the path of loving a child
how easily we lose our way
Meaning: A parent's heart is not a thing of darkness, and yet on the path of thinking of one's child, how easily one loses one's way.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1102

Headnote: "On the day when the Chancellor, then Major Captain of the Left, held the banquet after the wrestling, I went as a Middle Captain; when it was over and everyone was leaving, he kept back two men of high rank, and after guest and host had drunk many rounds, we grew tipsy and talked of our children, and on that occasion."
The poet says that a parent's heart is not darkness, and yet on the path of thinking of one's child one loses one's way. Likening the parental love that robs one of judgment to losing the way in the dark, the poem has been quoted ever since as an expression of a parent's heart, and The Tale of Genji often alludes to it.
According to the headnote, on the day when the Chancellor, Fujiwara no Tadahira, then Major Captain of the Left, held the banquet after the wrestling, Kanesuke attended as a Middle Captain; when it ended and the guests left, two men of high rank were kept back, guest and host drank round after round, and in their cups they talked of their children. The Tales of Yamato also gives it with a story about Kanesuke's love for his child.
The poet, Fujiwara no Kanesuke, rose to Middle Counselor and was called the Tsutsumi Middle Counselor because his mansion stood on the bank of the Kamo River. He was the great-grandfather of Murasaki Shikibu, and the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu includes his poem "Mika no hara wakite nagaruru izumigawa."

The first line, "Hito no oya no," means "a parent's," with an extra syllable. It begins by speaking of parents in general.
The second line, "kokoro wa yami ni," means "the heart, darkness."
The third line, "aranedomo," means "is not, and yet," with "domo" adversative.
The fourth line, "ko o omou michi ni," means "on the path of thinking of a child," with "path" a word related to darkness.
The last line, "madoinuru kana," means "how one loses one's way," with "nuru" the perfective and "kana" exclamatory. Ending with "madou," to stray, in keeping with darkness and path, it speaks of the parent who loses all judgment for love of a child.
Author: Fujiwara no Kanesuke
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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