Eda nagara mite o kaeran momijiba wa oran hodo ni mo chiri mo koso sure - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

枝ながら見てを帰らん紅葉葉は
折らんほどにも散りもこそすれ

Roma-ji: Eda nagara mite o kaeran momijiba wa oran hodo ni mo chiri mo koso sure
English Translation: Upon the branches,
let us gaze, then go back home;
the leaves of autumn,
even as we break them off,
might scatter and fall away.
Meaning: Let us look at them on their branches and go home, for the autumn leaves might scatter even as we try to break them off.
Commentary: Book Three Autumn Poems 201

Headnote: "When the courtiers went to the Ōi River to see the autumn leaves in the reign of Tenryaku"
Since the autumn leaves might scatter even while being broken off, the poet suggests looking at them as they are on the branch and going home. Whereas the preceding poem would break off sprays to carry home, this one expresses a love that leaves the autumn leaves as they are. According to the headnote, like the preceding poem, it was composed when the courtiers went to the Ōi River to view the autumn leaves in the Tenryaku era.
Minamoto no Kanemitsu was a courtier of the Tenryaku era; little is known of his life.

First line, "eda nagara," means "still on the branch." Against "te goto ni orite" in the preceding poem, this poem sings of looking without breaking, so the hearts that would and would not break them form a pair.
Second line, "mite o kaeran," means "let us look and go home," with "o" as an emphatic interjectory particle and "n" as a volitional auxiliary. The poem pauses here.
Third line, "momijiba wa," takes up the word "momijiba" from the preceding poem's first line.
Fourth line, "oran hodo ni mo," means "even while we break them off."
Final line, "chiri mo koso sure," means "lest they should scatter," with "mo koso" expressing apprehension of an undesirable outcome, resolved by the realis form "sure." Whereas the preceding poem feared the wind would scatter the leaves, this one fears they will scatter through people breaking them off.
Author: Minamoto no Kanemitsu
Source: Shui Wakashu
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