Yuku hito o todomegatami no karagoromo tatsu yori sode no tsuyukekaru ran - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

行く人をとどめがたみの唐衣
たつより袖の露けかるらん

Roma-ji: Yuku hito o todomegatami no karagoromo tatsu yori sode no tsuyukekaru ran
English Translation: The one who must go
I cannot hold—so this robe
I give in keepsake;
from the cutting, from your leaving,
its sleeves must be wet with dew.
Meaning: Since I cannot hold back the one who is going, I give this Chinese robe as a keepsake; from the moment it was cut, from the moment you set out, its sleeves must be wet with dew.
Commentary: Book Six Parting Poems 321

Headnote: "In the Tenryaku era, when the imperial nurse Higo was going down to the province of Dewa and a farewell was given her, attached to the robes bestowed from the Fujitsubo"
Unable to hold back the one who is leaving, the poet says that the robe given as a keepsake must have had its sleeves wet with tears from the moment it was cut and from the moment of departure. Steeping the gift with the tears of parting, the poem conveys the sorrow of being unable to keep the traveler. According to the headnote, in the Tenryaku era of Emperor Murakami, when the emperor's nurse Higo was going down to the province of Dewa, robes were bestowed from the Fujitsubo as a farewell gift, and this poem was attached to them.

First line, "yuku hito o," means "the one who is going away."
Second line, "todomegatami no," plays on "-gatami," hard to hold back, and "katami," a keepsake. "-Gatami" adds "mi" to an adjective stem to express a reason.
Third line, "karagoromo," is a fine robe, leading through its associations with cutting and sleeves to the lines that follow. 326 and 327 of this book are also parting poems with a gift of a fine robe, so robe poems continue.
Fourth line, "tatsu yori sode no," lays on "tatsu" both cutting cloth and setting out on a journey. Like "tachiwakaru beki" in 305 of this book, it overlays cutting and departing in a parting with a gift of clothing.
Final line, "tsuyukekaru ran," means "must be wet with dew," the dew standing for tears, with "ran" an auxiliary of present conjecture. From the next poem through 324, poems of tears and sleeves stand together.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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