Au koto no katami no koe no takakereba waga naku ne to mo hito wa kikanan - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

逢ふことの形見の声の高ければ
我が泣く音とも人は聞かなん

Roma-ji: Au koto no katami no koe no takakereba waga naku ne to mo hito wa kikanan
English Translation: This keepsake of love,
this koto, sounds so loudly
when it is played—
may my love hear it as well
as the voice of my weeping
Meaning: This koto, keepsake of our meeting, sounds so loud—may you hear its music as the sound of my own weeping.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems IV 1268

Headnote: "On returning a koto borrowed from next door."
The poet asks that, since the koto, keepsake of meeting, sounds so loud, the other might hear it as her weeping. Returning a koto borrowed from a neighbor and joining "koto," a matter, with "koto," the instrument, she likens the koto to a keepsake of love and hopes its music will be heard as her own tears.
According to the headnote, it was sent with a koto borrowed from the house next door, on returning it.
The poet is anonymous and the name is not known.

The first line, "Au koto no," is a pivot word on "koto," both a matter and the koto: of our meeting, and the koto of the headnote.
The second line, "katami no koe no," means "the voice of the keepsake," treating the koto as a keepsake of meeting.
The third line, "takakereba," means "since it sounds so loud," with "ba" giving the cause.
The fourth line, "waga naku ne to mo," means "as the sound of my weeping," overlaying the koto's sound with the sound of tears.
The last line, "hito wa kikanan," means "may you hear it," with "nan" a particle of request.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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