Ama no hara akane sashi izuru hikari ni wa izure no numa ka sae nokoru beki - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

天の原あかねさし出づる光には
いづれの沼かさえ残るべき

Roma-ji: Ama no hara akane sashi izuru hikari ni wa izure no numa ka sae nokoru beki
English Translation: Across the heavens
the sun climbs up in crimson;
before such a light
what marsh anywhere could stay
frozen and remain in ice?
Meaning: Before the light of the sun rising crimson across the wide heavens, what marsh could remain frozen?
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1691

Headnote: "Sun."
A poem on the topic of the sun, this is the second of Sugawara no Michizane's twelve poems on one-character topics. Once the morning sun climbs the sky, no marsh can remain frozen. It is read as likening the sun's light to the emperor's grace and hoping that it would one day reach the poet as well.
The author, "Kan Zō Daijō Daijin," is Sugawara no Michizane. No author is named in the original; the attribution continues from the preceding poem. The son of Sugawara no Koreyoshi and renowned as a scholar and poet in Chinese, he rose to Minister of the Right but under Emperor Daigo was demoted to Provisional Governor-General of Dazaifu and died in exile. Because he was posthumously granted the office of Chancellor, he is referred to by this title.

The first line, "ama no hara," is the wide expanse of the sky. It first sets out the breadth of the heavens and leads into the sunrise.
The second line, "akane sashi izuru," means "rising aglow in crimson." "Akane sasu" is also used as a pillow word for "sun" and "shine"; here it describes the color of the morning sun.
The third line, "hikari ni wa," means "before that light." The particle "wa" singles out the light and heightens its power.
In the fourth line, "izure no numa ka," "ka" is a rhetorical particle. Asking which marsh could do so, it implies that none could.
The last line, "sae nokoru beki," closes the kakari-musubi of "ka" with "beki," the attributive form of "beshi." "Sae" means to freeze cold, and the rhetorical question declares that no marsh will stay frozen. The sun of the topic is shown as a power that thaws whatever has grown cold.
Author: Sugawara no Michizane
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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