Semi no ha no hitoe ni usuki natsugoromo nareba yorinamu mono ni ya wa aranu - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

蝉の羽のひとへに薄き夏衣
なればよりなむものにやはあらぬ

Roma-ji: Semi no ha no hitoe ni usuki natsugoromo nareba yorinamu mono ni ya wa aranu
English Translation: Like a cicada's wing,
single-layered, thin, the robe
of summertime—
once worn soft, will it not crease
and draw close, as all things do?
Meaning: A summer robe of a single layer, thin as a cicada's wing, softens with wear and creases, does it not? So too a cold-hearted lover, grown familiar, may yet draw close.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Miscellaneous Forms 1035

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
While speaking of a summer robe, the poet embeds pivot words in "hitoe," "nare," and "yori," expressing the hope that even a cold lover will draw near once they grow familiar. Weaving a love plea out of words associated with clothing is the wit that makes this a haikai poem.
The author, "Mitsune," is Ōshikōchi no Mitsune. One of the compilers of the Kokinshū, he held provincial posts in Kai and Izumi. He is one of the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "Semi no ha no," a figure for thinness, leads into "hitoe ni usuki."
Second line, "hitoe ni usuki," is a pivot word joining "hitoe," single-layered, and "hitoe ni," utterly, hinting at the lover's coldness.
Third line, "natsugoromo," is a thin summer robe.
Fourth line, "nareba yorinamu," pivots "nare" between a robe going limp with wear and a person growing familiar, and "yori" between creasing and drawing close.
Fifth line, "mono ni ya wa aranu," uses rhetorical "ya wa": is it not so?
Author: Oshikochi no Mitsune
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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