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Hyakunin Isshu No. 16 · Chunagon Yukihira (Ariwara no Yukihira)Tachiwakare

“Though We Part” — Chunagon Yukihira (Ariwara no Yukihira)Source: Kokinshū, Parting · 365
立ち別れ いなばの山の 峰に生ふる
まつとし聞かば 今帰り来む
Tachiwakare Inaba no yama no mine ni ouru
matsu to shi kikaba ima kaerikomu
Though we part, like the pine growing on Mount Inaba's peak —
if I hear that you wait for me, I will come straight home.
Hyakunin IsshuKokin WakashūPartingPartingWaitingMt. Inaba (Tottori)
Tachiwakare jacket art▶

What the poem says

Though I leave you for the land of Inaba, if I hear that you 'wait' for me — like the pine on the peak of Mount Inaba — I will come straight back home.

Music Video

ミュージックビデオ

The Story

歌のものがたり

Historical Background

Ariwara no Yukihira (818-893) was the elder brother of Narihira. In 855, when he was appointed governor of Inaba and had to leave the capital, he composed this poem at his farewell banquet. "Inaba" is a kakekotoba (pivot word) on Inaba, his new posting, and "inaba" ("if I go away"); "matsu" puns on the pines of Mount Inaba and "to wait." It opens the "Parting" section of the Kokin Wakashū and is the representative poem of farewell. Yukihira later returned to the capital, rose to Middle Counselor (Chūnagon), and founded the Shōgaku-in academy.

The Poet's Heart

Parting is unavoidable. But "if I hear that you are waiting, I will come straight back": a poem that rephrases the sorrow of separation as a bright promise. The wordplay is not a game but a piece of wisdom, a way to smile and wave instead of crying. In the "now" of "I will come back now," you can feel him already wanting to return before he has even left.

What We Put into the Lyrics

We overlaid Yukihira's wit, brightening a farewell by punning "pine" with "wait," onto the modern season of leaving town for a job transfer or for school. What we wanted to convey is that what matters is not how close you are in distance but which way your heart is facing. The man who recited this poem at his farewell banquet really did come back. So the song closes with "wait for me" and "I'll be waiting": a song of promise that holds true whether it is sung by the one leaving or the one who stays.

Lyrics

歌詞
Japanese

たち別れ（古今集/中納言行平・百人一首16番）Garu JP

Verse 1

段ボールに 詰めきれなかった

この街の 匂いと音

「元気でね」の 代わりに君は

「待ってる」と 言ってくれた

Pre-Chorus

それだけで 荷物が軽い

それだけで 行ける気がする

Chorus

たち別れ いなばの山の

峰に生ふる まつとし聞かば

今帰り来む 今帰り来む

待ってると 聞いたから

どんな遠くからでも 帰ってくるよ

約束は 重くない 羽のように

Verse 2

知らない駅の 知らない朝に

少しだけ 迷子になる

それでも胸の 奥のほうで

「待ってる」が 灯っている

Pre-Chorus 2

離れたことで わかることがある

近さじゃなくて 向きなんだと

Chorus 2

たち別れ いなばの山の

峰に生ふる まつとし聞かば

今帰り来む 今帰り来む

松は待つと 千年前も

同じ響きで 誰かが笑って

約束を 歌にした

Bridge

因幡へ向かう 宴の夜に

別れを明るく 言い換えた人

その人もちゃんと 帰ってきた

だから僕も 大丈夫

Drop

たち別れ いなばの山の 峰に生ふる

まつとし聞かば 今帰り来む

Final Chorus

たち別れ いなばの山の

峰に生ふる まつとし聞かば

今帰り来む 今帰り来む

待っててよ 待ってるよ

どっちでもいい どっちも同じ

松の下で また会おう

Outro

まつとし聞かば……

今帰り来む

English

All the things I couldn't pack into boxes

The scent and sounds of this town

Instead of "take care," you

told me "I'll be waiting"

That alone makes my luggage light

That alone makes me feel I can go

Though we part — like the pine

on Mount Inaba's peak — if I hear you wait

I will come straight home, straight home

Because I heard you're waiting

I'll come back from however far away

This promise isn't heavy — light as a feather

At an unknown station, on an unknown morning

I get a little lost

And yet, deep inside my chest

your "I'll be waiting" keeps glowing

Some things you only learn by being apart

It's not the distance — it's which way hearts face

Though we part — like the pine

on Mount Inaba's peak — if I hear you wait

I will come straight home, straight home

"Pine" sounds like "wait" — a thousand years ago

someone smiled at that same echo

and turned a promise into a song

On the night of the farewell feast, bound for Inaba

a man rephrased goodbye into something bright

And that man truly did come home

So I will be fine as well

Though we part — like the pine growing on Mount Inaba's peak

if I hear that you wait for me, I will come straight home

Though we part — like the pine

on Mount Inaba's peak — if I hear you wait

I will come straight home, straight home

"Wait for me" — "I'll be waiting"

Either one will do — they're the same promise

Let's meet again beneath the pine

If I hear that you wait for me...

I will come straight home

Tachiwakare (Kokinshu / Ariwara no Yukihira, Hyakunin Isshu No. 16) Garu JP

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