Haru kasumi naka shi kayoiji nakariseba aki kuru kari wa kaerazaramashi - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

春かすみなかし通ひ路なかりせば
秋来る雁は帰らざらまし

Roma-ji: Haru kasumi naka shi kayoiji nakariseba aki kuru kari wa kaerazaramashi
English Translation: If within spring haze
there were no pathway
for them to travel,
the wild geese that come in autumn
surely would not fly back home.
Meaning: If there were no pathway through the spring haze, the wild geese that come in autumn would surely never return to the north.
Commentary: Book Ten Names of Things 465

Headnote: "Ink marbling"
This poem says that if there were no path through the spring haze, the wild geese that come in autumn would never go back. The title "suminagashi" (ink marbling) is hidden in "sumi naka shi" across the first and second lines. Suminagashi is the pastime of dropping ink on water to make patterns. It is a witty poem that explains the geese's spring return to the north by a pathway within the haze.
The poet, "Shigeharu," is Ariwara no Shigeharu. The second son of Ariwara no Narihira, he was also called Zaiji no Kimi.

First line "Haru kasumi" is the spring haze, and the title begins with "sumi."
Second line "naka shi kayoiji" means "a path through the haze," with the emphatic particle "shi." With the first line, "sumi naka shi" hides the title "suminagashi."
Third line "nakariseba" means "if there were none," using the counterfactual "seba."
Fourth line "aki kuru kari wa" means "the wild geese that come in autumn."
Fifth line "kaerazaramashi" closes with "mashi" in answer to "seba," supposing contrary to fact that they would not return.
Author: Ariwara no Shigeharu
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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