Ashikaraji yokaramu tote zo wakareken nani ka Naniwa no ura wa sumiuki - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あしからじよからむとてぞ別れけん
何か難波の浦は住み憂き

Roma-ji: Ashikaraji yokaramu tote zo wakareken nani ka Naniwa no ura wa sumiuki
English Translation: "It will not go ill,
but well," so we must have thought
when we went our ways;
why then should the Naniwa shore
be a hard place to live on?
Meaning: We surely parted thinking that things would not go ill, that all would be well; why then should the shore of Naniwa be hard to live on?
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems II 541

Headnote: "In reply"
The poet replies that since they parted thinking things would not go badly but would turn out well, why should the shore of Naniwa be hard to live on? Answering the man's lament in the preceding poem, 540, she says their parting was meant for the good of both and encourages the man who complains of his hardship. She takes up his pivot of "things went ill" and "reed-cutting" with "ashikaraji," and answers it with "yokaramu" as its pair.
This story appears in the Tales of Yamato, in the episode of the reed-cutter, as the tale of a parted couple.

First line, "ashikaraji," is a pivot word on "it will not go ill" and "reeds." It takes up the second line of the preceding poem, 540, "ashikarikeri to."
Second line, "yokaramu tote zo," means "thinking it would be well," paired with "ashikaraji" in the first line. The binding particle "zo" is resolved by "ken" in the third line.
Third line, "wakareken," means "we must have parted," with "ken" an auxiliary of past conjecture. The poem breaks after this third line.
Fourth line, "nani ka Naniwa no," means "why should Naniwa's," with "nani ka" rhetorical, layering the sounds of "nani ka" and "Naniwa."
Final line, "ura wa sumiuki," means "should the shore be hard to live on," taking up almost word for word the preceding poem's final line, "ura zo sumiuki," and denying it. It contrasts with "Sumiyoshi" in the fourth line of 539 in this book.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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