Sayo fukete ashi no sue kosu urakaze ni aware uchisou nami no oto kana

English Translation

As the night grows late,
across the tips of the reeds
blows the wind from the bay,
and adding to my sorrow
comes the sound of breaking waves.

Meaning

Late in the night, the wind from the bay sweeps over the tips of the reeds, and the sound of the waves deepens the sadness it brings.

Commentary

Book Ten Travel Poems 919

Headnote: "Composed when, on the way to Tennōji, she stayed at the bay of Naniwa."
This is the sixth of a sequence of poems on distant journeys and travel by water. Late at night, the sound of the waves adds its sorrow to the wind that blows over the tips of the reeds, a night on the road at the bay of Naniwa. According to the headnote, it was composed when she stopped for the night at Naniwa Bay on a pilgrimage to Tennōji.
The author, Higo, was a lady-in-waiting of the late Heian period. "Higo" is a court name taken from the name of a province.
The scene is late at night during the pilgrimage to Tennōji, at the bay of Naniwa in Settsu Province.
The direct occasion is stopping for the night at Naniwa Bay on the way to Tennōji.
The "Tennōji" of the headnote is Shitennōji in Settsu Province, said to have been founded by Prince Shōtoku.

The first line, "sayo fukete," means "as the night grows late." The "sa" of "sayo" is a prefix that adjusts the rhythm. After "yūgiri" in 910 and the evening squall of the preceding poem, the scene here is late night, and time moves on toward "akatsukigata" in the next poem.
The second line, "ashi no sue kosu," means "blowing over the tips of the reeds." Naniwa is a famous place sung of as a bay thick with reeds.
The third line, "urakaze ni," means "in the wind from the bay." The sound of the wind rustling the reeds leads to the sound of the waves.
The fourth line, "aware uchisou," means "adding still more to the sadness." "Uchi" is a prefix that strengthens the verb.
The last line, "nami no oto kana," means "ah, the sound of the waves." It closes with the exclamatory "kana" after a noun. The sound of the waves overlays that of the wind, deepening the loneliness of a night on the road through what is heard. The same bay of Naniwa that appears in 898 as Mitsu, the port of home, is sung of here as a place of lodging on a journey.

Author

Higo

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other