Tsu no kuni no Horie no fukaku omou tomo ware wa Naniwa no nani to dani mizu - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

津の国の堀江の深く思ふとも
我は難波のなにとだに見ず

Roma-ji: Tsu no kuni no Horie no fukaku omou tomo ware wa Naniwa no nani to dani mizu
English Translation: In the land of Tsu,
deep as Horie's canal
though your love may be,
I, like Naniwa's name, think
not a thing of it at all.
Meaning: Though you may love me as deeply as the Horie canal in the land of Tsu, I, like the name of Naniwa, think nothing of you at all.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 883

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
The poem pushes away another's love: though you love me as deeply as the Horie canal in the land of Tsu, I, like the name Naniwa, think nothing of you. Through wordplay layering place-names, it tosses off a curt refusal.
From here to 885 in this book, three poems in a row begin with "Tsu no kuni no."

First line, "Tsu no kuni no," means "of the land of Tsu," that is, Settsu. The first lines of the next poems, 884 and 885, are also "Tsu no kuni no," so that three poems stand side by side with the same opening.
Second line, "Horie no fukaku," means "deep as the Horie canal." Horie was a canal opened at Naniwa, and its depth leads to "fukaku," deeply.
Third line, "omou tomo," means "even if you love me," with "tomo" an adversative supposition, speaking of the other's feelings.
Fourth line, "ware wa Naniwa no," means "I, like Naniwa," with the sound "nani" of Naniwa leading to "nani" in the final line.
Final line, "nani to dani mizu," means "think nothing of you, not even as something." Repeating the same sound in "naniwa" and "nani to," it voices a curt refusal.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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