From Suma’s shore
The smoke where the fisherfolk
Burn salt for their trade—
The wind blows harshly upon it,
Drifting where it never meant.

Meaning

On the shore of Suma, the smoke from the fisherfolk burning salt is driven by the strong wind and drifts away in a direction it never intended.

Commentary

112. The Fisherfolk of Suma

There was a certain man. He had a woman with whom he had made a sincere promise to become husband and wife, but she turned her heart toward another man.
The poem was composed by the man.

In the poem, the smoke represents the woman, and the wind represents the other man.
Perhaps the other man’s temptation was very strong, or perhaps the woman had circumstances she could not avoid. If she yielded to temptation, it can be said that the woman was unfaithful.

Source

Ise Monogatari

Other

As a sign they say The cord beneath should come loose When one is loved so. Yet my under-cord stays tied— So you cannot love as said.
That I long for you Never again will I say. When the under-cord Comes undone, let people know That alone will tell my love.
Within this brief life That cannot last very long, To be forgotten— How exceedingly short Such a heart must surely be.
Reproach me not That I seem like an old man. In my hunting robe, Only for this day, they say— Even the cranes cry so.

From Suma’s shore The smoke where the fisherfolk Burn salt for their trade— The wind blows harshly upon it, Drifting where it never meant.

From Suma’s shore
The smoke where the fisherfolk
Burn salt for their trade—
The wind blows harshly upon it,
Drifting where it never meant.