Shio no ma ni yomo no uraura tazunuredo ima wa waga mi no iu kai mo nashi - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

潮の間に四方の浦々尋ぬれど
今は我が身のいふかひもなし

Roma-ji: Shio no ma ni yomo no uraura tazunuredo ima wa waga mi no iu kai mo nashi
English Translation: While the tide is out
I seek along the shores and bays
in all four quarters,
but now for such a one as me
there is no shell, no worth in words.
Meaning: While the tide is out I search the shores in every direction for shells, but now there is nothing worth saying about one such as I.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1716

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
This is the first of the poems on bays and shores. Though she searches the shores in every direction for shells while the tide is out, nothing she can say about herself now is of any worth. Onto the scene of searching for shells she lays her grief at a life in which nothing is rewarded. The headnote gives no topic, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author, "Izumi Shikibu," was the daughter of Ōe no Masamune. She took her name from her marriage to Tachibana no Michisada, Governor of Izumi. Known for her love affairs with Prince Tametaka and Prince Atsumichi, she later served Jōtōmon-in Shōshi.

The first line, "shio no ma ni," means "while the tide is out," suggesting the gathering of shells on the tidal flats.
The second line, "yomo no uraura," is bays in every direction. The "ura" of "the lining of the robe" in the preceding poems shifts here to "ura," the seashore.
In the third line, "tazunuredo," "do" is concessive. It sets up the premise "though I searched" and turns to the lament of the lower verse.
The fourth line, "ima wa waga mi no," means "for me as I am now." "Ima wa" hints at a present condition unlike the past.
In the last line, "iu kai mo nashi," "kai" is a pivot word meaning both the "shells" sought on the shore and "worth" or "use." A single word binds the finding of no shells to a self for whom words are of no avail.
Author: Izumi Shikibu
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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