Hodo tōmi kayou kokoro no yuku kari nao kakinagase mizuguki no ato

程遠み通ふ心のゆくかり
なほ書き流せ水茎の跡

Roma-ji: Hodo tōmi kayou kokoro no yuku kari nao kakinagase mizuguki no ato
English Translation: Since we are so far,
until our hearts that travel
reach each other's side,
let your brush flow on, I pray,
leaving traces of your hand.
Meaning: Since we are so far apart, please still let your brush flow freely, leaving its traces, until our hearts can truly reach each other.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1137

Headnote: "Reply"
This is Saigyō's reply to the lady in Sanuki. Since you are so far away, he answers, still let your brush flow until our hearts reach one another.
To one who says she has no way to write, he urges her to write nonetheless, for it is through letters that distant hearts meet. Taking up her mizuguki and kakinagasu and setting "the traces of the brush" in his last line, he makes the answer plain.

First line, “hodo tōmi”: mi expresses cause, "since we are far apart."
Second line, “kayou kokoro no”: of the hearts that pass between Sanuki and the capital.
Third line, “yuku kari”: the text has yuku kari, the reading line yuku bakari; the text is followed, construed as "until it reaches."
Fourth line, “nao kakinagase”: still, write on; an imperative answering "there is no way to write."
Fifth line, “mizuguki no ato”: the traces of the brush, a letter, ending on a noun that answers the first line of her poem.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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