Yo o samumi oku hatsushimo o haraitsutsu kusa no makura ni amata tabi nenu - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

夜を寒み置く初霜を払ひつつ
草の枕にあまたたび寝ぬ

Roma-ji: Yo o samumi oku hatsushimo o haraitsutsu kusa no makura ni amata tabi nenu
English Translation: The night is so cold—
brushing off the first frost
that settles on me,
on a pillow made of grass
many a journey-night I've slept.
Meaning: Because the nights are so cold, I have brushed away the first frost again and again, and slept on a pillow of grass through many nights of this journey.
Commentary: Book Nine Travel Poems 416

Headnote: "Composed on the road when he went to the province of Kai"
On the road to Kai, the poet tells of brushing off the first frost that settles on cold nights while sleeping out in the open night after night. Letting "tabi," journey, echo inside "amatatabi," many times, he impresses on us the hardship of repeated nights on the road.
The headnote shows that the poem was composed on the way to Kai. It was a journey in the season of first frost, and we can sense him pressing on through the growing cold.
The author, "Mitsune," is Ōshikōchi no Mitsune. He served with Ki no Tsurayuki and others as a compiler of the Kokinshū and is counted among the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals. Though his court rank was low, he was known for his gift for impromptu verse.

The first line uses the construction "... o ... mi," meaning "since the night is cold," and states the cause.
The second line, "the first frost that settles," refers to the frost brought by the cold; "oku" means for frost or dew to settle.
In the third line, "tsutsu" is a conjunctive particle of repetition, showing the act of brushing off the frost night after night.
The fourth line, "on a pillow of grass," opens out the set phrase "kusamakura," meaning sleeping on the road. Where the preceding poem, 415, sings of the forlorn road of departure, this one conveys what it feels like after many nights of travel, so the passage of time on the journey shows in the arrangement.
In the last line, "amatatabi" puns on "amata tabi," many times, and "tabi," journey. "Nu" is the perfective auxiliary, looking back on how many times he has slept on the road.
Author: Oshikochi no Mitsune
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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