Aumi chō na wa Takashima to kikoyuredo izura wa koko ni Kurumoto no sato - Kinyo Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あふみてふ名はたかしまと聞こゆれど
いづらはここにくるもとの里

Roma-ji: Aumi chō na wa Takashima to kikoyuredo izura wa koko ni Kurumoto no sato
English Translation: Ōmi, Meeting-Self,
high in name like Takashima,
so the rumors go,
but where is it, I wonder,
Kurumoto, where you come to me
Meaning: Ōmi, the land whose name means a self that meets, is famed, they say, like Takashima; but where, then, is Kurumoto, the village of your coming here?
Commentary: Book Eight Love Poems II 496

Ōmi is famed as a name that sounds like au mi, a self that meets, and Takashima too is well known, but where, the poet asks, is Kurumoto, the village where the beloved comes to her? Through pivot words built on place names of Ōmi, the poem resents one whose visits exist in name only.

First line, 'Aumi chō', is a pivot word in which aumi means both a self that meets a lover and the province of Ōmi, left in kana. Chō is a contraction of to iu.
Second line, 'na wa Takashima to', is a pivot word in which takashima means both a name held high and Takashima, a place in Ōmi, left in kana.
Third line, 'kikoyuredo', means though it is renowned, using the concessive do.
Fourth line, 'izura wa koko ni', means where is it, here, izura being a word asking where something is.
Final line, 'Kurumoto no sato', is a pivot word in which kuru means both your coming here and Kurumoto, said to be a place in Ōmi, left in kana. The poem closes on a noun.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kinyo Wakashu
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