Tabi o yukishi ato no yadomori oreore ni watakushi are ya kesa wa imada konu

旅を行きし跡の宿守おれおれに
私あれや今朝はいまだ来ぬ

Roma-ji: Tabi o yukishi ato no yadomori oreore ni watakushi are ya kesa wa imada konu
English Translation: The housekeepers left
while I was out on my journey—
each one, I suppose,
has some business of his own;
this morning none have come yet.
Meaning: Those who kept the house while I was away on my journey must each have private business of their own, for this morning they have not yet come.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 594

Headnote: "On the morning after returning from the same pilgrimage, when my retainers did not appear"
On the morning after returning from the pilgrimage to the Two Shrines, the poet's retainers did not appear, and he wonders with light humour whether each has some private errand. It gives a glimpse of Sanetomo's daily life as a lord.
The Ruijū text gives the headnote as "On the morning after coming down from the Two Shrines, when my retainers did not appear." The Ruijū and Jōkyō texts read line 3 as oreore ni, the Ruijū noting also onoono ni. The Ruijū text and the text transmitted by Teika read line 5 as kesa wa mada konu; here it follows the source as displayed, kesa wa imada konu.

Line 1 means "who went on the journey," six syllables, one beyond the norm.
Line 2 means "the house-keepers left behind."
Line 3 means "each and every one."
Line 4 means "might they have private business?" ya interrogative.
Line 5 means "this morning they have not yet come"; the scene moves from the road in the two preceding poems to the morning after the journey's end.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
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