Ashi no ya no karisomebushi wa Tsu no kuni no nagarae yukedo wasurezarikeri - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

葦の屋のかりそめぶしは津の国の
ながらへゆけど忘れざりけり

Roma-ji: Ashi no ya no karisomebushi wa Tsu no kuni no nagarae yukedo wasurezarikeri
English Translation: In the reed-roofed hut,
that night we lay a passing while—
though, like Nagara
in the land of Tsu, I live long,
I have never forgotten it
Meaning: That passing night we lay together in the reed-thatched hut—though I live on, long as Nagara in the land of Tsu, I have never forgotten it.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 874

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
That passing night together in the reed-thatched hut, he says, though I live on, long as Nagara in the land of Tsu, I have not forgotten. Layering associated words drawn from the reeds of the land of Tsu, which includes Naniwa, he expresses how deep the memory of a single tryst remains, though it was only a moment, unforgettable even after many years.
The author, "Fujiwara no Tamezane," was a poet of the late Heian period. The details of his career are not clear.
Poem 881 in this book also begins with "nagaraete" and links living on with the feelings of love.

First line, "ashi no ya no": "ashi no ya" is a humble house roofed with reeds, recalling the land of Tsu, famed for its reeds.
Second line, "karisomebushi wa": "karisome," "for a passing moment," pivots with "kari," "cutting" the reeds. "Bushi" is "fushi," lying together, and echoes "fushi," the "joints" of the reeds. "Cutting" and "joints" are both associated words for "reeds."
Third line, "Tsu no kuni no": "Tsu no kuni" is the province of Settsu, leading to "nagara" in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "nagarae yukedo": "nagara" pivots between the place name Nagara in the land of Tsu and "nagarae," "living on." "Do" is adversative, "though I live on."
Fifth line, "wasurezarikeri": "zari" is the negative auxiliary and "keri" exclamatory, "I have not forgotten." Set against "karisome" in the second line, it closes on the feeling of being unable to forget a brief tryst for so long.
Author: Fujiwara no Tamezane
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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