Tamaboko no tōmichi mo koso hito wa yuke nado toki no ma mo mineba koishiki - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

玉鉾の遠道もこそ人は行け
など時の間も見ねば恋しき

Roma-ji: Tamaboko no tōmichi mo koso hito wa yuke nado toki no ma mo mineba koishiki
English Translation: Along a jeweled road
people travel even far
to reach where they go;
why then, if I miss you
for a moment, do I long?
Meaning: People will travel even a long road; why, then, do I long for you if I do not see you for just a little while?
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 737

Headnote: "Sent on a day when he did not meet Lord Minamoto no Kintada, whom he had been meeting every day, whatever day that may have been"
The poem asks why, when people will travel even a long road, the poet longs for his friend if he does not see him for just a little while. The headnote shows it was sent to Minamoto no Kintada, whom he had been meeting nearly every day, on a day when by chance they did not meet. Expressing affection for a friend in the language of love poetry, it is placed in a book of love poems. Minamoto no Kintada, a grandson of Emperor Kōkō, was a poet counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
The author, written as "Tsurayuki," is Ki no Tsurayuki. He was the leading compiler of the Kokinshū, wrote its kana preface and the Tosa Diary, and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
The final line of the main text reads "mineba," which does not match "minu wa" in the reading line. Here the main text is followed.

First line, "tamaboko no," is a pillow word introducing "michi," road.
Second line, "tōmichi mo koso," means "even a long road," with the binding particle "koso" resolved by the perfective form "yuke" in the third line.
Third line, "hito wa yuke," means "people will travel, yet," the perfective form after "koso" carrying a concessive sense into what follows.
Fourth line, "nado toki no ma mo," means "why, for even a moment," with "nado" interrogative.
Final line, "mineba koishiki," means "do I long if I do not see you," with "ne" the perfective form of the negative "zu" and "ba" conditional. Answering "nado," it closes on the attributive "koishiki." The reading line has "minu wa."
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Shui Wakashu
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