Kimi ga yuku kata ni ari chō Namidagawa mazu wa sode ni zo nagaru beranaru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

君が行く方にありてふ涙川
まづは袖にぞ流るべらなる

Roma-ji: Kimi ga yuku kata ni ari chō Namidagawa mazu wa sode ni zo nagaru beranaru
English Translation: The River of Tears
that they say lies on the road
where you are going—
first of all, it seems, it flows
here upon my own sleeves
Meaning: The River of Tears that is said to lie where you are going—before all else, it seems, it flows upon my sleeves.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Parting Poems 1327

Headnote: "When a man was going to the province of Ise."
The poet says that the River of Tears said to lie where he is going seems to flow first on her own sleeves. Seeing off a man bound for Ise, she plays on the name of the River of Tears said to be there, saying her tears of parting already run like a river down her sleeves.
According to the headnote, it was composed when a man went down to the province of Ise. Poem 1334 of this book also sings of tears of parting as a "river of tears."
The poet is anonymous and the name is not known.

The first line, "Kimi ga yuku," means "where you are going."
The second line, "kata ni ari chō," means "said to lie in that direction," with "chō" a contraction of "to iu."
The third line, "Namidagawa," is the River of Tears, said to be in Ise, and also a figure for flowing tears.
The fourth line, "mazu wa sode ni zo," means "first of all on my sleeves," with "zo" an emphatic binding particle.
The last line, "nagaru beranaru," means "seems to flow," with "beranari" conjecture, closing the "zo" with the attributive "beranaru."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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