Koto toeba motehanaretaru keshiki kana uraraka nare ya hito no kokoro no

言問へばもて離れたるけしきかな
うららかなれや人の心の

Roma-ji: Koto toeba motehanaretaru keshiki kana uraraka nare ya hito no kokoro no
English Translation: When I speak to her,
how distant she seems to be,
how cold her manner—
is it so serene and bright,
that heart of hers I love?
Meaning: When I speak to her, how distant she seems! Is her heart so serene and untroubled?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1297

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "One hundred and ten love poems"
When he speaks to her, how aloof she seems; is her heart so serene and untroubled? the poet asks.
Describing as uraraka, "serene and sunny," the heart of one who stays calm as if nothing were the matter in the face of his desperate feelings is striking; a word for the mildness of a spring day is applied ironically to love's coldness.

First line, “koto toeba”: when I speak to her.
Second line, “motehanaretaru”: holding herself aloof.
Third line, “keshiki kana”: kana is exclamatory; the poem breaks here.
Fourth line, “uraraka nare ya”: uraraka is serene and untroubled; ya questions.
Fifth line, “hito no kokoro no”: her heart, the inversion giving the subject of the fourth line.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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