Haru fukaki iro ni mo aru kana Suminoe no soko mo midori ni miyuru hamamatsu - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

春深き色にもあるかな住の江の
底も緑に見ゆる浜松

Roma-ji: Haru fukaki iro ni mo aru kana Suminoe no soko mo midori ni miyuru hamamatsu
English Translation: How deep is the hue,
the very depth of spring it is!
at Suminoe
even the depths seem green
from the pines along the shore
Meaning: What a deep color, the very depth of spring—the pines along the shore at Suminoe, turning even the water's depths green.
Commentary: Book Three Spring Poems III 111

Headnote: "On the way to Izumi Province, by the seashore."
Seeing the pines along the shore at Suminoe reflected so that even the depths of the water look green, the poet feels the deepening of spring. Overlaying the depth of the pines' green with the depth of spring, the poem depicts a bright spring scene by the sea.
According to the headnote, it was composed on the seashore on the way to Izumi Province. Suminoe was a coast in Settsu Province on the route to Izumi, famed for its pines.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Haru fukaki," holds both the deepening of spring and a deep color, leading into "iro" in the second line.
In the second line, "kana" expresses a sigh: "what a deep color it is." The poem pauses here.
The third line, "Suminoe no," names the inlet of Sumiyoshi, a poetic place in Settsu famed for its pines.
The fourth line, "soko mo midori ni," shows that the pines' reflection makes even the bottom of the water look green. 124 of this book likewise sings of the deep color of pine boughs reflected in the depths, "minasoko no iro sae fukaki matsu ga e," corresponding with this poem.
The last line, "miyuru hamamatsu," ends on a noun, in inversion with the first two lines.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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