Nigorie no suman koto koso katakarame ika de honoka ni kage o misemashi - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

濁り江のすまんことこそかたからめ
いかでほのかに影を見せまし

Roma-ji: Nigorie no suman koto koso katakarame ika de honoka ni kage o misemashi
English Translation: As a muddy inlet
finds it hard to settle clear,
hard to share a home:
still, somehow, however faint,
let me show my image there
Meaning: As a muddy inlet can hardly grow clear, so it may be hard for us ever to live together; yet somehow I would let you glimpse me, if only faintly.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems I 1053

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the sixth poem of the sequence on love that cannot meet, sung through places and things. As a muddy inlet hardly grows clear, living together may be hard, yet the speaker would somehow show a faint glimpse of self. The headnote gives no topic, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author, "Anonymous," continues from the preceding poem and indicates a poem whose author's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "nigorie no," means "of a muddy inlet."
In the second line, "suma" pivots between "sumu," to become clear, and "sumu," to live together. "Koso" is resolved by "me" in the third line.
The third line, "katakarame," means "it may be hard," and leads concessively into the lower verse.
The fourth line, "ika de honoka ni," means "somehow, if only faintly." Like "honoka ni miteshi" in 1022, Yoshitada's poem, it thinks of the faintest meeting.
In the last line, "kage" is a reflection in the water, and "mashi" expresses a hesitant wish. Muddy, clear, and reflection run together as associated words of water. After "kagoto bakari mo" in the preceding poem, this one too wishes for a meeting however slight.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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