Ato mo naku yuki furusato wa arenikeri izure mukashi no kakine naruran - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

跡もなく雪ふるさとは荒れにけり
いづれ昔の垣根なるらん

Roma-ji: Ato mo naku yuki furusato wa arenikeri izure mukashi no kakine naruran
English Translation: Leaving not a trace,
the snow falls upon the old home,
now fallen to ruin—
which of these, I wonder, was
the hedge of days gone by?
Meaning: Snow has fallen without a trace upon the old home, which has fallen to ruin—which, I wonder, was the hedge of long ago?
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1580

Headnote: "Sent when Sei Shōnagon was living beside the house where Motosuke once lived, and the snow fell so heavily that even the dividing hedge collapsed."
This is the fourth poem of the sequence on winter. Snow has fallen and covered all traces, the old home has fallen to ruin, and the poet asks which was the hedge of long ago. According to the headnote, when Sei Shōnagon was living beside the house where Kiyohara no Motosuke once lived, the snow fell so heavily that even the dividing hedge collapsed, and the poet sent this poem to her.
The author, "Akazome Emon," was the daughter of Akazome no Tokimochi. She became the wife of Ōe no Masahira and served Rinshi, wife of Fujiwara no Michinaga, and her daughter Jōtōmon'in.
"Motosuke" in the headnote is Kiyohara no Motosuke, the father of Sei Shōnagon and one of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber.

The first line, "ato mo naku," means "without a trace." It shows the snow covering everything.
In the second line, "yuki furusato wa," "furu" plays on "furu," for snow to fall, and "furu," old, in "furusato," old home.
The third line, "arenikeri," declares, "it has fallen to ruin," and the poem breaks after the third line.
The fourth line, "izure mukashi no," means "which, of long ago." It recalls the days when Sei Shōnagon's father Motosuke lived there.
The last line, "kakine naruran," uses the present conjectural "ran," meaning "can it be the hedge?" In the hedge collapsed and buried in snow, it overlays the past of the late Motosuke with present ruin.
Author: Akazome Emon
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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