Uchimukau sono aramashi no omokage o makoto ni nashite miru yoshi mo gana

うち向かふそのあらましの面影を
まことになして見るよしもがな

Roma-ji: Uchimukau sono aramashi no omokage o makoto ni nashite miru yoshi mo gana
English Translation: Sitting face to face,
that meeting I have pictured,
the image of you,
if there were a way to make
it come true and see it so!
Meaning: If only there were a way to make real the image I keep picturing of the day we will sit face to face.
Commentary: Love Poems 654

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Love"
The poet keeps picturing in his mind the time when he will one day sit face to face with his beloved. If only there were a way to see that imagined image become real. The poem expresses the frustration of a love that can only daydream of a meeting not yet granted.

First line, “uchimukau”: facing each other, meeting the beloved face to face.
Second line, “sono aramashi no”: aramashi is picturing something in advance, an anticipation.
Third line, “omokage o”: the image in the heart.
Fourth line, “makoto ni nashite”: making it real.
Fifth line, “miru yoshi mo gana”: yoshi is a means, and mogana a particle of wishing: if only there were a way to see it.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Kazu naranu kokoro no toga ni nashihateji shirasete koso wa mi o mo uramime
Next Poem: Yamagatsu no arano o shimete sumisomuru katadayori naru koi mo suru kana