Yukusue wa mada tōkeredo natsuyama no ko no shitakage zo tachiukarikeru - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

行く末はまだ遠けれど夏山の
木の下陰ぞ立ち憂かりける

Roma-ji: Yukusue wa mada tōkeredo natsuyama no ko no shitakage zo tachiukarikeru
English Translation: Though the road ahead
still stretches so far away,
on the summer hills,
the shade beneath the green trees
makes it hard for me to leave.
Meaning: Though the journey ahead is still long, the shade beneath the trees on the summer mountain makes it hard to move on.
Commentary: Book Two Summer Poems 129

Headnote: "For a folding screen at the house of the Fourth Princess"
Though he knows the road ahead is still long, the traveler is drawn by the coolness of the shade on the summer mountain and finds it hard to leave. The poem captures a feeling particular to summer, when a traveler who should hurry on lingers in the cool. According to the headnote, it is said to have accompanied a folding screen at the house of Princess Kinshi, a daughter of Emperor Daigo known as the Fourth Princess.
The author, written as Mitsune, is Ōshikōchi no Mitsune. One of the compilers of the Kokinshū, he was ranked alongside Ki no Tsurayuki and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "yukusue wa," means "the road ahead."
Second line, "mada tōkeredo," means "though it is still far," with the concessive particle "do."
Third line, "natsuyama no," refers to the summer mountains with their thick foliage. The next poem, 130, also begins with "natsuyama no," so the two poems form a pair.
Fourth line, "ko no shitakage zo," means "the shade under the trees," with the emphatic particle "zo," which is resolved by "keru" in the final line. In contrast to the dark "ko no shitayami" of the preceding poems, here the shade is sung of as cool.
Final line, "tachiukarikeru," means "it is hard to leave," closing with the attributive "keru" in response to "zo." It echoes "tachitomaruran" in the next poem, sharing the theme of summer shade that holds the traveler back.
Author: Oshikochi no Mitsune
Source: Shui Wakashu
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Next Poem: Natsuyama no kage o shigemi ya tamaboko no michi yuku hito mo tachitomaruran