Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
契りきな
Kiyohara no Motosuke · 清原元輔
契りきな
かたみに袖を
しぼりつつ
末の松山
浪こさじとは
Historical kana
ちぎりきな
かたみにそでを
しぼりつつ
すゑのまつやま
なみこさじとは
Original English translation
We promised, wringing out each other’s tear-soaked sleeves, that no wave would cross Sue’s Pine Mountain.
History and context
Motosuke helped compile the Gosenshū and was Sei Shōnagon’s father. The poem invokes Sue no Matsuyama, a poetic place used to express an apparently unbreakable promise.
Imagery and wordplay
An impossible wave crossing becomes a measure of fidelity. The wet sleeves recall the intensity of the oath.
Goshuishū · 後拾遺集恋四770
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.