Ume no hana yoso nagara mimu wagimoko ga togamu bakari no ka ni mo koso shime - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

梅の花よそながら見む吾妹子が
とがむばかりの香にもこそしめ

Roma-ji: Ume no hana yoso nagara mimu wagimoko ga togamu bakari no ka ni mo koso shime
English Translation: The plum blossoms here
I will look upon from afar,
lest my dearest one
find fault with me for the scent
that has steeped into my sleeves.
Meaning: I will admire the plum blossoms from a distance, lest their scent cling to me so strongly that my wife takes me to task for it.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 27

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
If one draws near the plum blossoms their scent will cling to one's robes, and one's wife may suspect where and with whom one has been, so the speaker resolves to admire them from afar. The poem humorously links the strength of the plum's fragrance to a wife's jealousy.

First line, "ume no hana," names what is to be viewed.
Second line, "yoso nagara mimu," means "I will view them from afar," with "mu" expressing intention; the poem pauses after the second line.
Third line, "wagimoko ga," means "my wife." Like "imo" in poem 17 of this book, it pairs plum blossoms with a woman.
Fourth line, "togamu bakari no," means "enough to make her reproach me."
Final line, "ka ni mo koso shime," uses "mo koso" to express a fear that something unwelcome might happen: "lest the scent cling to me." "Shime" is the perfective form of "shimu," resolving "koso."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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