Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
名にしおはば
Fujiwara no Sadakata · 三条右大臣
名にしおはば
逢坂山の
さねかづら
人にしられで
くるよしもがな
Historical kana
なにしおはば
あふさかやまの
さねかづら
ひとにしられで
くるよしもがな
Original English translation
If your name is true, vine of Meeting Hill, may there be a way to draw my beloved here without anyone knowing.
History and context
Sadakata appears under the title Minister of the Right at Sanjō. The Gosen love poem uses the vine of Ōsaka Hill to imagine a concealed connection between lovers.
Imagery and wordplay
Ōsaka suggests meeting, while the vine’s drawn length suggests drawing someone near. Place and plant become a secret route.
Gosenshū · 後撰集恋三701
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.