Ausaka no na o wasurenishi naka naredo sekiyararenu wa namida narikeri - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

逢坂の名を忘れにし仲なれど
せきやられぬは涙なりけり

Roma-ji: Ausaka no na o wasurenishi naka naredo sekiyararenu wa namida narikeri
English Translation: Though ours is a bond
that has forgotten the name
of the Slope of Meeting,
what no barrier holds back
are these tears of mine, I find
Meaning: Ours is a bond that has long forgotten the name of Ausaka, the Slope of Meeting; yet what not even its barrier can hold back, I find, are my tears.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 872

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on the topic 'love in terms of The Tale of Genji'"
Like the preceding poem, it was composed on the topic "love in terms of The Tale of Genji." Ours is a bond, it says, that has forgotten the name of Ausaka, yet what cannot be held back are my tears. It expresses the broken bond of lovers who no longer meet by saying they have forgotten Ausaka, whose name holds "au," "to meet," and pivoting the "seki," the barrier of Ausaka, with "seku," "to hold back" tears, it conveys a heart that cannot stop its tears even knowing there will be no more meetings. It is thought to draw on the scene in the Sekiya chapter of The Tale of Genji in which Hikaru Genji and Utsusemi pass each other at the Ausaka Barrier.
The author is given as "anonymous."
It is on the same topic, "love in terms of The Tale of Genji," as the preceding poem, 871. The last line, "namida narikeri," is shared with 849, 868 and 890 in this book, and 868 in particular, with its fourth line "sekiaenu mono wa," closely resembles this poem in singing of tears that cannot be stemmed.

First line, "Ausaka no": "Ausaka" is Mount Ausaka on the border of Yamashiro and Ōmi, where a barrier was set. Its name holds the meaning "to meet."
Second line, "na o wasurenishi": "ni" is the continuative of the completive "nu" and "shi" the attributive of the past "ki," "which has forgotten the name of meeting." It expresses that their meetings have ceased.
Third line, "naka naredo": "naka" is the bond between man and woman, and "do" an adversative particle.
Fourth line, "sekiyararenu wa": "seki" pivots between the "barrier" of Ausaka and "seku," holding back tears. "Yaru" means to do fully, "re" is the irrealis of the potential auxiliary "ru," and "nu" the negative auxiliary, "what cannot be wholly held back." It echoes "sekiaenu mono wa" in the fourth line of 868 in this book.
Fifth line, "namida narikeri": "keri" expresses the exclamation of realization, "it is my tears, I find." It is the same last line as 849, 868 and 890 in this book.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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