Karakoromo tatsu yori otsuru mizu narade waga sode nurasu mono ya nani naru - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

唐衣たつより落つる水ならで
我が袖濡らす物や何なる

Roma-ji: Karakoromo tatsu yori otsuru mizu narade waga sode nurasu mono ya nani naru
English Translation: Not the water that falls
from the dragon, as one cuts
a robe from Chinese cloth,
what then can it be that comes
to wet my sleeves like this?
Meaning: It is not the water falling from the dragon at the Buddha's bathing, so what is it, I wonder, that wets my sleeves?
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Congratulatory Poems 1189

Headnote: "On seeing a child at the Buddha's Bathing ceremony"
The poet asks what it is that wets his sleeves, since it is not the water poured at the Buddha's Bathing. The headnote shows it was composed on seeing a child serving at the Buddha's Bathing ceremony of the eighth day of the fourth month. Speaking through the water of the ceremony, it hints, in the form of a question, that what wets the sleeves are tears of love for the child.

First line, "karakoromo," a fine robe in the Chinese style, is a pillow word that leads to "tatsu" in the second line through "cutting" cloth for a robe.
Second line, "tatsu yori otsuru," appears to be a pivot word: "tatsu" means to "cut" cloth and "tatsu," the dragon that pours water over the Buddha's image. It means "falling from the dragon."
Third line, "mizu narade," means "not the water," with "de" a negative conjunctive particle, speaking of the scented water poured over the Buddha's image.
Fourth line, "waga sode nurasu," means "that wets my sleeves," hinting at tears of love.
Final line, "mono ya nani naru," means "what can it be," with the binding particle "ya" expressing a question, resolved by the attributive "naru."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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