Naki hito no katami to omou ni ayashiki wa emite mo sode no nururu narikeri - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

なき人の形見と思ふにあやしきは
ゑみても袖の濡るるなりけり

Roma-ji: Naki hito no katami to omou ni ayashiki wa emite mo sode no nururu narikeri
English Translation: As a keepsake left
by one gone, it is a wonder
how, when I look on it,
how, even when I smile,
my sleeves are wet all the same.
Meaning: Thinking of this as a keepsake of the one now gone, how strange it is that whether I look at the picture or even smile, my sleeves grow wet with tears.
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems II 542

Headnote: "When a picture painted by the late prince born to the Ise Consort was sent from the Fujitsubo to the Reikeiden Consort's quarters, written on returning the picture"
The poet says it is strange that, thinking of the picture as a keepsake of the dead, her sleeves grow wet with tears whether she looks at it or even smiles. The headnote shows that the prince born to the Ise Consort had died, and when a picture he had left behind was sent from the Fujitsubo to the Reikeiden Consort, this poem was written on returning it. Pivoting on "emi," "looking at the picture" and "smiling," it sings of a grief in which tears fall even at a charming picture.
The author, the Lady of the Reikeiden, appears to have been a lady-in-waiting who served the Reikeiden Consort, but little is known of her. The Ise Consort is the poet Ise, and the prince she bore to Emperor Uda died in childhood.

First line, "naki hito no," means "of the one who is gone," pointing to the prince of the headnote.
Second line, "katami to omou ni," means "thinking it a keepsake," speaking of the picture the prince painted.
Third line, "ayashiki wa," means "what is strange," and the lower verse goes on to tell the wonder.
Fourth line, "emite mo sode no," is a pivot word: "emi" means "looking at the picture" and "smiling." It layers looking at the picture with smiling.
Final line, "nururu narikeri," means "is that they grow wet," with "nari" assertive and "keri" expressing a sigh of realization.
Author: Lady of the Reikeiden
Source: Shui Wakashu
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