Kimi ga sumu yado no kozue no yukuyuku to kakururu made ni kaerimishi wa ya - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

君が住む宿の梢のゆくゆくと
隠るるまでに顧みしはや

Roma-ji: Kimi ga sumu yado no kozue no yukuyuku to kakururu made ni kaerimishi wa ya
English Translation: The treetops above
the house where you dwell—as I
went on and on my way,
I kept looking back at them
until they were lost from sight.
Meaning: As I went on my way, I kept turning back to look at the treetops over the house where you live, until they were hidden from sight.
Commentary: Book Six Parting Poems 351

Headnote: "Sent back after I had been exiled"
The poet says that as he left the capital along the road, he kept turning back to look at the treetops over the house of his beloved until they vanished from sight. In the figure of one gazing steadily at the receding treetops he places his endless longing for the person he loves and for the capital. According to the headnote, it was sent back to someone in the capital after the poet had been exiled.
The author, called the Chancellor by posthumous appointment, is Sugawara no Michizane. A son of Sugawara no Koreyoshi, he was favored by Emperor Uda and rose to Minister of the Right, but in the first year of Engi (901) he was demoted to Acting Governor-General of Dazaifu and died in exile. After his death he was granted the title of Chancellor.

First line, "kimi ga sumu," means "where you dwell."
Second line, "yado no kozue no," means "of the treetops over the house."
Third line, "yukuyuku to," means "as I went on my way."
Fourth line, "kakururu made ni," means "until they were hidden." Like "kakureyuku" in 350, the preceding poem, it sings of a home receding until it is lost from sight, and the two form a pair as poems of those banished to Tsukushi. The preceding poem sang of a home without fond memories, while here the poet keeps gazing at the house where his beloved lives.
Final line, "kaerimishi wa ya," means "how I kept looking back," with "shi" the attributive of the past auxiliary "ki" and "wa ya" expressing exclamation.
Author: Sugawara no Michizane
Source: Shui Wakashu
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