Kotozukuru miare no hodo o sugushite mo nao ya uzuki no kokoro naru beki

ことつくる御阿礼のほどを過ぐしても
なほやうづきの心なるべき

Roma-ji: Kotozukuru miare no hodo o sugushite mo nao ya uzuki no kokoro naru beki
English Translation: Though she lets it pass,
the Miare rite she used
as her excuse,
will her heart remain the same,
as sorrowful as Uzuki?
Meaning: Even when the time of the Miare rite she used as her excuse has passed, will her heart remain as cold and sorrowful as the month of Uzuki?
Commentary: Love Poems 614

Headnote: "When I visited Kamo around the time of the Miare rite and people composed on 'love restrained by ritual abstinence'"
The headnote tells us this was composed when the poet visited Kamo around the time of the Miare rite, and people wrote on the topic of love restrained by ritual abstinence, refraining from love because of the purification required for the festival. Miare is a rite of the Upper Kamo Shrine held in the fourth month before the Kamo Festival. The poet asks whether the beloved, who used the abstinence as her excuse not to meet him, will remain cold even after the rite is past, with a heart as unkind as the u of Uzuki, the fourth month, which also sounds as u, sorrow.

First line, “kotozukuru”: kotozuku is to use as a pretext.
Second line, “miare no hodo o”: Miare is the rite of the Upper Kamo Shrine held in the fourth month before the Kamo Festival, bearing on the abstinence of the topic.
Third line, “sugushite mo”: even having let it pass.
Fourth line, “nao ya uzuki no”: uzuki is a pivot word joining Uzuki, the fourth month, with uki, sorrowful; the binding particle ya is answered by the attributive beki at the end.
Fifth line, “kokoro naru beki”: will it still be such a heart? closing in the attributive form answering ya, and answering the restrained love of the topic.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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