Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
立別れ
Ariwara no Yukihira · 中納言行平
立別れ
いなばの山の
嶺におふる
まつとし聞かば
今帰り来む
Historical kana
たちわかれ
いなばのやまの
みねにおふる
まつとしきかば
いまかへりこむ
Original English translation
We part, and I go to Mount Inaba; if I hear you wait like the pines on its peak, I will return at once.
History and context
Yukihira served as governor of Inaba. The departure poem links that destination with the promise of returning, using place-name poetry to make an official journey emotionally immediate.
Imagery and wordplay
Inaba also suggests leaving; matsu means both pine and wait. The landscape carries a promise.
Kokinshū · 古今集離別365
Japanese text and historical kana follow the linked Wikisource transcription. Classical poems can have variant spellings and wording in different anthologies. The source anthology reference identifies the version represented in this collection, not necessarily its earliest surviving text. English prose translations and reading notes are original interpretations; some wordplay permits more than one reading.