Yo to tomo ni kokoro o kakete tanomedomo ware kara kami no kataki shirushi ka - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

世とともに心をかけて頼めども
われからかみのかたきしるしか

Roma-ji: Yo to tomo ni kokoro o kakete tanomedomo ware kara kami no kataki shirushi ka
English Translation: Through all of my days
I have set my heart on you
and trusted in you;
is it through my own failing
that the god's sign is so hard?
Meaning: All my days I have set my heart on the god and trusted in him; is it through my own failing that his blessing is so hard to win?
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1175

Headnote: "Karakami no katagi, the woodblock for patterned paper"
This is a hidden-name poem, concealing the words "karakami no katagi" across "ware kara kami no" in the fourth line and "kataki shirushi ka" in the fifth. The karakami no katagi is the woodblock used to print patterns onto karakami paper. Though I have always set my heart on him and trusted him, is it my own fault that the god's blessing is so hard to win? he says. When his prayers go unanswered, he does not blame the god but wonders whether his own shortcomings are the cause.
The author, "Minamoto no Toshiyori Ason," was a son of the Major Counselor Minamoto no Tsunenobu. He was active in the poetry circle of Emperor Horikawa and compiled the Kin'yō Wakashū at the command of Retired Emperor Shirakawa.
It is the seventh poem of the hidden-name series.

First line, "yo to tomo ni": "always, through all my days."
Second line, "kokoro o kakete": "setting my heart on."
Third line, "tanomedomo": "though I trust," with "domo" an adversative conjunctive particle.
Fourth line, "ware kara kami no": "ware kara" means "through my own fault." From "karakami" into the fifth line lies hidden "karakami no katagi."
Fifth line, "kataki shirushi ka": "kataki" means hard to obtain, "shirushi" is the blessing or miraculous sign of gods and buddhas, and "ka" an interrogative final particle.
Author: Minamoto no Toshiyori
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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