Inishie mo koe miteshikaba Ausaka wa fumitagau beki naka no michi ka wa - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

古も越え見てしかばあふさかは
ふみたがふべき中の道かは

Roma-ji: Inishie mo koe miteshikaba Ausaka wa fumitagau beki naka no michi ka wa
English Translation: Since we crossed before,
long ago, the slope of meeting,
Ōsaka, is this
a road between us where my
step, my letter, could go astray?
Meaning: Since we have crossed the slope of Ōsaka, the slope of meeting, before, is this a road between us on which I could take a wrong step? How could my letter have gone astray?
Commentary: Book Fifteen Love Poems V 913

Headnote: "Sent when a woman with whom he sometimes spoke returned his letter, saying that it could hardly be meant for her"
This poem was sent when a woman with whom he sometimes exchanged words returned his letter, saying it could hardly be meant for her. Since we have crossed it before, he says, is Ōsaka a road between us where one might take a wrong step? Crossing the Ōsaka barrier is a figure for a man and woman meeting, and he retorts to her cold reply that, since they have met before, he could no more address his letter wrongly than lose his way on a familiar road. The double meaning of "fumi," "a step" and "a letter," is the heart of the poem's craft.
The author, "Fujiwara no Tsunehira," was the son of Fujiwara no Kinnari. A poet of the mid-Heian period, he is counted among the Six Poets of Waka.
Following poem 911 of this book, which likened a letter to bird tracks, this poem too sings of an exchange over a letter.

First line, "inishie mo": "before, in the past as well."
Second line, "koe miteshikaba": "te" is the continuative of the perfective "tsu," "shika" the perfective of the past "ki," and with "ba" it means "since I have crossed it before." Crossing the Ōsaka barrier is a figure for lovers meeting.
Third line, "Ausaka wa": "ausaka" combines "au," "to meet," said of lovers, and the place name Ōsaka on the border of Yamashiro and Ōmi.
Fourth line, "fumitagau beki": "fumi" combines "fumi," "to step," as in taking a wrong step on the road, and "fumi," "a letter," as in misaddressing it. "Beki" is the attributive of the conjectural "beshi."
Fifth line, "naka no michi ka wa": "naka" is the bond between the two, and "ka wa" a rhetorical particle, "is it a road between us where one could stray? surely not."
Author: Fujiwara no Tsunehira
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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