Kazasu tomo tachi to tachinan nakina oba kotonashigusa no kai ya nakaran - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

かざすとも立ちと立ちなん無き名をば
ことなし草のかひやなからん

Roma-ji: Kazasu tomo tachi to tachinan nakina oba kotonashigusa no kai ya nakaran
English Translation: Wear it in your hair,
still the groundless name will rise,
rise as rise it must—
the plant called No-Trouble,
I fear, would do no good at all
Meaning: Even if you wear it in your hair, a groundless rumor will rise as it must; I fear that even the plant called No-Trouble would be of no use.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems III 1220

Headnote: "When a woman who was his child became the subject of rumor with a man and said, 'This is what has happened—please explain it to people.'"
The poet says that even if worn in the hair, a groundless rumor will rise as it must, and the plant called No-Trouble would be no use. Saying that even a plant whose name means "no trouble" cannot stop rumor, he answers the lament of a daughter caught in gossip.
According to the headnote, a woman who was his child, rumored to be involved with a man, asked him to explain the matter to people, and he composed this.
The poet, "Tsurayuki," is Ki no Tsurayuki. A son of Ki no Mochiyuki, he was the chief compiler of the Kokinshu and wrote its Japanese preface. He is also known as the author of the Tosa Diary, and the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu includes his poem "Hito wa isa kokoro mo shirazu furusato wa."

The first line, "Kazasu tomo," means "even if you wear it in your hair," the No-Trouble plant of the fourth line.
The second line, "tachi to tachinan," means "will rise as rise it must," repeating the verb for emphasis.
The third line, "nakina oba," means "a groundless name." Like 1201 and 1202 of this book, it speaks of an undeserved rumor.
The fourth line, "kotonashigusa no," is a pivot word joining the plant's name with "koto nashi," no trouble.
The last line, "kai ya nakaran," means "would it do no good," with the interrogative binding particle "ya" closed by the attributive "nakaran."
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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