Hitosuji ni narenaba sate mo sugi no io ni yonayona kawaru kaze no oto kana - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

ひとすぢに慣れなばさても杉の庵に
夜な夜な変はる風の音かな

Roma-ji: Hitosuji ni narenaba sate mo sugi no io ni yonayona kawaru kaze no oto kana
English Translation: If single-hearted
I grew used to it, then well—
but at my cedar hut
every night it changes so,
the sound of the wind, alas.
Meaning: If only I could grow used to it once and for all, that would be well—but at my hut among the cedars, the sound of the wind changes night after night.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems II 1621

Headnote: "For the Poetry Contest in Fifteen Hundred Rounds."
This is the first poem of a sequence on wind blowing about a mountain dwelling. It would be well to grow wholly used to it, but at the cedar hut the sound of the wind changes each night, allowing no such ease. According to the headnote, it was presented at the Poetry Contest in Fifteen Hundred Rounds.
The author, "Uemon no Kami Michitomo," is Minamoto no Michitomo. A son of Palace Minister Minamoto no Michichika, he was one of the compilers of the Shin Kokinshū.

The first line, "hitosuji ni," means "single-mindedly, in one unchanging way."
The second line, "narenaba sate mo," means "if I grew used to it, that would do." "Naba," the perfective "nu" with "ba," expresses a supposition.
The third line, "sugi no io ni," means "at the hut among the cedars." It is hypermetric, with six syllables.
The fourth line, "yonayona kawaru," means "changing night after night." It pairs with "hitosuji" in the first line, showing a wind sound that is never the same.
The last line, "kaze no oto kana," closes with the exclamation "kana." In a wind that will not let one grow used to it, the poet hears the loneliness of mountain life.
Author: Minamoto no Michitomo
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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