Uguisu no sutsukuru eda o oritsureba kōba ikade ka umamu to suran - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

鶯の巣作る枝を折りつれば
こうばいかでか産まむとすらん

Roma-ji: Uguisu no sutsukuru eda o oritsureba kōba ikade ka umamu to suran
English Translation: When I broke the branch
where the warbler builds its nest,
I wonder: how then
will it ever find a way
to bring its young into the world?
Meaning: Since I have broken off the branch where the warbler was building its nest, how will the warbler manage to bring forth its young?
Commentary: Book Seven Names of Things 354

Headnote: "Kōbai (red plum)"
Having broken off the branch where a warbler was building its nest, the poet wonders how the bird will now bring forth its young. Apart from its surface meaning, the poem hides the name "kōbai," red plum, given in the headnote, within the run of sounds "kōba ikade ka" in the fourth line. The headnote names the thing hidden in the poem. This book gathers poems on the names of things, which conceal a name within the flow of sounds apart from the poem's meaning. This opening poem sings of the warbler and red plum of spring, while the last poem of the book, 431, sings of autumn leaves scattered by the autumn wind, so the head and close of the book answer each other with spring flowers and autumn leaves. The book of names of things in the Kokinshū also begins with a poem by Fujiwara no Toshiyuki hiding the name of the warbler.
The fourth line of the main text reads "kōba," which does not match "kowoba" in the line giving the reading. The main text is followed here.

First line, "uguisu no," means "of the warbler," the bird that heralds spring. Setting a spring bird at the head of the book, together with the cherry of the next poem, 355, the book begins with things of spring.
Second line, "sutsukuru eda o," means "the branch where it builds its nest," suggesting a red plum branch holding the warbler's nest.
Third line, "oritsureba," means "since I have broken it," with "tsure" the perfective form of the perfective auxiliary "tsu" and "ba" expressing a reason. The third line of 366 in this book is the same "oritsureba."
Fourth line, "kōba ikade ka," means "how, its young," with "kōba" standing for "ko oba." Within the run of sounds "kōba ika" lies "kōbai," the name of the red plum. The particle "ka" is a questioning particle.
Final line, "umamu to suran," means "will it try to give birth," with "ran" an auxiliary of present conjecture, resolving "ka" in its attributive form.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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