Ōaraki no mori no kusa to ya narinikemu kari ni dani kite tou hito no naki - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

大荒木の森の草とやなりにけむ
かりにだに来て問ふ人のなき

Roma-ji: Ōaraki no mori no kusa to ya narinikemu kari ni dani kite tou hito no naki
English Translation: Have I now become
a weed in the wood of Ōaraki?
I wonder so,
for no one comes, not even
in passing, nor to cut the grass
Meaning: Have I become a weed in the forest of Ōaraki? For no one comes to visit, not even in passing, not even to cut the grass.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems II 1178

Headnote: "When I was on leave and staying shut in at home, and no one came to see me."
The poet wonders whether he has become a weed in the forest of Ōaraki, since no one comes even in passing to visit. Likening himself, shut in at home on leave from office, to the aging grass of Ōaraki that no one cuts, he laments the loneliness of having no visitors.
According to the headnote, he was on leave and staying at home, and no one came to see him. It draws on the Kokinshu poem "Ōaraki no mori no shitakusa oinureba koma mo susamezu karu hito mo nashi."
The poet, Mibu no Tadamine, was one of the compilers of the Kokinshu and is counted among the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals. The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu includes his poem "Ariake no tsurenaku mieshi wakare yori."

The first line, "Ōaraki no," means "of the forest of Ōaraki," with an extra syllable. The forest is said to be a famed place in Yamashiro. "Ōaraki no" also appears in the third line of 1186 in this book.
The second line, "mori no kusa to ya," means "a weed of the forest," with "ya" an interrogative binding particle closed by the attributive "kemu" in the third line.
The third line, "narinikemu," means "have I become," closing the "ya" of the second line. The poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "kari ni dani kite," means "coming even in passing," with "kari" joining coming to cut grass and "kari," for a passing moment.
The last line, "tou hito no naki," means "there is no one who visits," closing on the attributive to express feeling.
Author: Mibu no Tadamine
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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