Tadachi to mo tanomazaranan mi ni chikaki koromo no seki mo ari to iu nari - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

ただちとも頼まざらなん身に近き
衣の関もありといふなり

Roma-ji: Tadachi to mo tanomazaranan mi ni chikaki koromo no seki mo ari to iu nari
English Translation: Do not count on it
as a road that leads straight through—
close to the body
though it lies, the Robe has too
a barrier, so they say
Meaning: Do not rely on it as a straight and easy road; even the robe that lies so close to the body has its Robe Barrier, so they say.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems II 1160

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet asks not to be relied on as a direct road, for even the robe close to the body has, they say, its Robe Barrier. Laying the name of the Koromo Barrier, a famed place in Michinoku, over the robe one wears, the poet chides a lover who thinks meeting will be easy, saying that even the closest relationship has its barrier.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Tadachi to mo," means "as a direct road," with "tadachi" a way that leads straight through.
The second line, "tanomazaranan," means "I wish you would not rely on," with "nan" a particle expressing a wish of another. The poem pauses here.
The third line, "mi ni chikaki," means "close to the body," the robe that touches the skin.
The fourth line, "koromo no seki mo," means "the Robe Barrier too," overlaying the famed Koromo Barrier of Michinoku with the robe one wears.
The last line, "ari to iu nari," means "there is, they say," with "nari" the hearsay auxiliary.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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