Oshieoku koto tagawazu wa yukusue no michi tōku tomo ato wa madowaji - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

教へおくこと違はずは行く末の
道遠くともあとはまどはじ

Roma-ji: Oshieoku koto tagawazu wa yukusue no michi tōku tomo ato wa madowaji
English Translation: If I do not stray
from all that you have taught me,
though the road ahead
may stretch long into the years,
I will not lose the traces
Meaning: If I do not depart from what you have taught me, then however far the road ahead may run, I will not lose my way along the traces.
Commentary: Book Twenty Congratulatory Poems 1379

Headnote: "Reply."
The emperor says that if he does not depart from what he has been taught, he will not lose the traces, however long the road ahead. Answering the preceding poem's call to learn the traces of the sage reigns with the copybook, he replies that by following this teaching he will not go astray far into the future.
It is the reply to the preceding poem by the Grand Minister Fujiwara no Tadahira.
The poet, "the present emperor," is Emperor Murakami. A son of Emperor Daigo by Fujiwara no Onshi, he ruled in person, and his reign was praised as the Tenryaku era of good government. It was he who ordered the compilation of the Gosen Wakashu.

The first line, "Oshieoku," means "what you have taught," answering "narae," learn, in the preceding poem.
The second line, "koto tagawazu wa," means "if I do not depart from it," with "zu wa" a negative condition.
The third line, "yukusue no," means "of the time to come."
The fourth line, "michi tōku tomo," means "though the road be long," with "road" overlaid by the way of rule.
The last line, "ato wa madowaji," is a pivot word on "ato," both brushwork and footprints on the road, taking up "ato" in the preceding poem's last line. "Ji" is negative intention.
Author: Emperor Murakami
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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