Kokoro arite tou ni wa arazu yo no naka ni ari ya nashi ya no kikamahoshiki zo - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

心ありて問ふにはあらず世の中に
ありやなしやの聞かまほしきぞ

Roma-ji: Kokoro arite tou ni wa arazu yo no naka ni ari ya nashi ya no kikamahoshiki zo
English Translation: Not with any heart
is it that I ask of him;
in this world of ours,
whether he is or is not,
that alone I wish to hear.
Meaning: It is not out of any feeling that I ask; I only wish to hear whether he is still in this world or not.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Congratulatory Poems 1193

Headnote: "A man had courted her for years while she stayed cold, until he said he would no longer remain in this world; afterward he did not call for a long time, and since she had long been friendly with the man's younger sister and exchanged letters with her, she sent this to her"
The poet says that she is not asking out of feeling; she only wants to hear whether he is still in this world or not. The headnote shows that a woman, having stayed cold to a man who had courted her for years, heard him say he would no longer stay in this world, after which he did not come for a long time; she then sent this to the man's sister, with whom she had long exchanged letters. While insisting it is not from love, it reveals a heart that cannot help worrying whether he is alive.

First line, "kokoro arite," means "out of feeling," speaking of having a heart for him.
Second line, "tou ni wa arazu," means "it is not that I ask," and the poem breaks after this second line.
Third line, "yo no naka ni," means "in this world," taking up the man's words, "yo ni mo araji," that he would not remain in the world.
Fourth line, "ari ya nashi ya no," means "whether he is or is not." It shares the anxiety over another's life or death with the first and second lines of the closing poem, 1209, "ikitaru ka shinuru ka."
Final line, "kikamahoshiki zo," means "I wish to hear," with "mahoshiki" the attributive form of the auxiliary of desire "mahoshi" and "zo" a firm close.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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