Tomosureba kaze no yoru ni zo aoyagi no ito wa nakanaka midaresomekeru - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

ともすれば風のよるにぞ青柳の
糸はなかなか乱れそめける

Roma-ji: Tomosureba kaze no yoru ni zo aoyagi no ito wa nakanaka midaresomekeru
English Translation: All too easily,
when the wind twists them, drawing near,
the green willow's threads,
contrary to what we'd think,
have begun to tangle so.
Meaning: All too often, whenever the wind draws near to twist them, the green willow's threads instead begin to tangle.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 32

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The tangling of the willow's slender branches whenever the wind blows is sung through the imagery of thread, twisting and tangling. There is a paradox in that the wind, which ought to twist the threads together, instead throws them into disorder.

First line, "tomosureba," means "all too often" or "at every turn."
Second line, "kaze no yoru ni zo," is a pivot word combining the wind "drawing near" and the "twisting" of thread; "zo" is resolved by the attributive "keru" in the final line.
Third line, "aoyagi no," stands at the head of the green willow poems that continue through 33 to 35 of this book.
Fourth line, "ito wa nakanaka," likens the willow's slender branches to thread, with "nakanaka" meaning "on the contrary."
Final line, "midaresomekeru," uses "midaru" (to tangle) as an associated word with "yoru" and "ito," closing "they have begun to tangle."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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