Kusamakura tabi to narinaba Yama no be ni shirakumo naranu ware ya yadoramu - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

草枕旅となりなば山の辺に
白雲ならぬ我や宿らむ

Roma-ji: Kusamakura tabi to narinaba Yama no be ni shirakumo naranu ware ya yadoramu
English Translation: If, pillowed on grass,
this becomes a journey,
at Yama no Be,
I who am no cloud of white—
shall I lodge there for the night
Meaning: If this pilgrimage, pillowed on grass, becomes a true journey, shall I, who am no white cloud, take lodging at Yama no Be, the mountain's side?
Commentary: Book Nineteen Parting Poems 1358

Headnote: "Composed near a place called Yama no Be on a pilgrimage to Hatsuse."
The poet wonders whether, if this turns into a journey, she who is no white cloud will lodge at Yama no Be. On a pilgrimage to Hatsuse, the place name Yama no Be, the mountain's side, brings to mind the white clouds that rest on mountains, and she playfully asks whether she, no cloud, will spend the night there.
According to the headnote, it was composed near a place called Yama no Be on the way to Hatsuse.
The poet, Ise, was a daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugukage, Governor of Ise, and served Fujiwara no Onshi, consort of Emperor Uda. She received the emperor's favor and later bore Nakatsukasa to Prince Atsuyoshi. One of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals, she is represented in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu by "Naniwagata mijikaki ashi no fushi no ma mo."

The first line, "Kusamakura," is a pillow word for "journey."
The second line, "tabi to narinaba," means "if it becomes a journey," with "naba" a supposition.
The third line, "Yama no be ni," means "at Yama no Be," weaving in the place name of the headnote with the sense of "by the mountain."
The fourth line, "shirakumo naranu," means "who am not a white cloud," drawing on the view that white clouds are what lodge on mountainsides.
The last line, "ware ya yadoramu," means "shall I lodge there," with the interrogative binding particle "ya" closed by the attributive "ramu."
Author: Ise
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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