Ware to ieba Inari no kami mo tsuraki kana hito no tame to wa inorazarishi o - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

我といへば稲荷の神もつらきかな
人のためとは祈らざりしを

Roma-ji: Ware to ieba Inari no kami mo tsuraki kana hito no tame to wa inorazarishi o
English Translation: When it comes to me,
even the god of Inari
is cruel, it seems;
it was not for another's sake
that I offered up my prayers.
Meaning: When it comes to me, even the god of Inari is cruel, though it was never for someone else's sake that I prayed.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Miscellaneous Love Poems 1267

Headnote: "When a woman he had begun to court after meeting her on a pilgrimage to Inari became involved with another man"
The poet says that when it comes to him even the god of Inari is cruel, though he never prayed for another's sake. The headnote shows he composed it when a woman he began to court after seeing her on a pilgrimage to Inari became involved with another man. He had prayed to the Inari god for success in love, yet things turned out as though the prayer had been granted for another man, and he laments it playfully by reproaching the god. With 1211 in this book and the next poem, 1268, it is a love poem tied to a pilgrimage to Inari.
The author, Fujiwara no Nagatō, was a son of Fujiwara no Tomoyasu and a younger brother of the Mother of Fujiwara no Michitsuna. He was active in the poetic circle of Retired Emperor Kazan and is one of the Thirty-Six Later Immortal Poets.

First line, "ware to ieba," means "when it comes to me."
Second line, "Inari no kami mo," means "even the god of Inari," with "mo" carrying the sense of "not only people but even the god." It shares Inari with the first line of 1211 in this book, "Inariyama," and the third line of the next poem, 1268, "Inariyama."
Third line, "tsuraki kana," means "how cruel," with "kana" exclamatory, and the poem breaks after this third line.
Fourth line, "hito no tame to wa," means "for another's sake," the other man with whom the woman became involved.
Final line, "inorazarishi o," means "though I never prayed so," with "zari" negative, "shi" past, and "o" a concessive particle.
Author: Fujiwara no Nagato
Source: Shui Wakashu
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