Kano oka ni hagi karu onoko nawa o nami neru ya neriso no kudakete zo omou - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

かの岡に萩刈る男縄をなみ
練るやねりそのくだけてぞ思ふ

Roma-ji: Kano oka ni hagi karu onoko nawa o nami neru ya neriso no kudakete zo omou
English Translation: On yonder hillside
the man who cuts bush clover,
having no rope, twists
the brushwood until it breaks,
so my heart breaks thinking of you.
Meaning: On yonder hill, a man cutting bush clover, having no rope, twists brushwood into a binding until it breaks apart; just so my heart breaks with longing.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 813

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
The poem says that as the twisted twig binding used for lack of rope by a man cutting bush clover on yonder hill breaks apart, so one's heart breaks with longing. The rustic scene of cutting bush clover in the upper verse forms a preface, and the twisted binding that splinters is laid over the anguish of a love torn to pieces.
The author, "Mitsune," is Ōshikōchi no Mitsune, one of the compilers of the Kokinshū and one of the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets. He is known for the Hyakunin Isshu poem "kokoro ate ni oraba ya oramu hatsushimo no."

First line, "kano oka ni," means "on yonder hill."
Second line, "hagi karu onoko," means "the man cutting bush clover."
Third line, "nawa o nami," means "since there is no rope," with "mi" a suffix expressing cause.
Fourth line, "neru ya neriso no," means "like the twisted twig binding he twists," with "ya" a rhythmic interjection. Up to here the poem forms a preface leading to "kudakete."
Final line, "kudakete zo omou," means "I brood till my heart breaks," concluding in the attributive form "omou" in answer to "zo."
Author: Oshikochi no Mitsune
Source: Shui Wakashu
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