Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
うかりける
Minamoto no Toshiyori · 源俊頼朝臣
うかりける
人を初瀬の
山おろし
はげしかれとは
祈らぬものを
Historical kana
うかりける
ひとをはつせの
やまおろし
はげしかれとは
いのらぬものを
Original English translation
I did not pray that the mountain wind of Hatsuse would make that unkind person still more fierce.
History and context
Toshiyori helped shape later Heian waka and compiled the Kin’yōshū. Hatsuse, associated with Hasedera, provides a pilgrimage setting for a prayer that seems to have gone wrong.
Imagery and wordplay
The harsh wind and harsh beloved are brought together. The complaint turns religious hope into ironic disappointment.
Senzaishū · 千載集恋二707
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.