Mochizuki no koma yori osoku idetsureba tadoru tadoru zo yama wa koetsuru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

望月の駒より遅く出でつれば
たどるたどるぞ山は越えつる

Roma-ji: Mochizuki no koma yori osoku idetsureba tadoru tadoru zo yama wa koetsuru
English Translation: Behind the horse
from Mochizuki I set out,
starting late, and so
groping, groping all the way
I crossed the mountain here
Meaning: Because I set out later than the horse from Mochizuki, I crossed the mountain groping my way step by step.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems II 1144

Headnote: "In the Engi reign, the emperor sent a horse with word that I should come at once; I came immediately and sent this to the one who had conveyed his command."
The poet says that since he set out later than the horse of Mochizuki, he crossed the mountain groping his way. Likening the horse the emperor sent to the famed steeds of Mochizuki, he jokingly tells of his hurried journey, lagging behind the horse and struggling along the mountain road.
According to the headnote, in the Engi reign of Emperor Daigo, the emperor sent a horse with word that he should come quickly; he came at once and sent this to the person who had delivered the command.
The poet, the monk Sosei, was a son of Archbishop Henjō. Taking holy orders, he lived at temples such as Urin-in. One of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals, he is represented in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu by "Ima komu to iishi bakari ni nagatsuki no."

The first line, "Mochizuki no," means "of the Mochizuki pasture" in Shinano, famed for fine horses. It also echoes the full moon, suggesting a bright moonlit night.
The second line, "koma yori osoku," means "later than the horse," treating the horse sent to him as a Mochizuki steed.
The third line, "idetsureba," means "since I set out," with "tsure" the perfective form of the auxiliary "tsu."
The fourth line, "tadoru tadoru zo," means "groping, groping," repeating the word to stress the toil of the mountain path. "Zo" is an emphatic binding particle closed by the attributive "tsuru" in the last line. "Tadoru tadoru" also appears in 1166 of this book.
The last line, "yama wa koetsuru," means "I crossed the mountain," closing the "zo" of the fourth line.
Author: Sosei Hoshi
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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