Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
由良の戸を
Sone no Yoshitada · 曽根好忠
由良の戸を
わたる舟人
楫をたえ
行方もしらぬ
戀の道かな
Historical kana
ゆらのとを
わたるふなびと
かぢをたえ
ゆくへもしらぬ
こひのみちかな
Original English translation
Like a boatman crossing the Yura channel with his oar lost, I do not know where the path of love will take me.
History and context
Yoshitada’s poem uses the difficult passage at Yura as a comparison for uncertain love. The coastal image belongs to a literary landscape; it does not establish an actual boating accident.
Imagery and wordplay
The missing oar removes control and direction. Love becomes movement without a reliable route.
Shinkokinshū · 新古今集恋一1071
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.