Kagamiyama yama kakikumori shigururedo momiji akaku zo aki wa miekeru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

鏡山山かきくもりしぐるれど
紅葉あかくぞ秋は見えける

Roma-ji: Kagamiyama yama kakikumori shigururedo momiji akaku zo aki wa miekeru
English Translation: At Mount Kagami,
though the mountain, all clouded,
is dim with showers,
bright and red, the autumn leaves
showed me autumn all the same
Meaning: Though Mount Kagami, the Mirror Mountain, is clouded over and dim with showers, its autumn leaves were red and bright, and autumn could be seen all the same.
Commentary: Book Seven Autumn Poems III 393

Headnote: "On crossing Mount Kagami."
The poet says that though Mount Kagami is clouded over and showers fall, the leaves are red and bright, and the look of autumn could be seen clearly. Through the name of the Mirror Mountain, which reflects even when clouded, it captures a mountain made bright by the red of its leaves even in gloom.
According to the headnote, it was composed while crossing Mount Kagami in the province of Ōmi. Where the preceding poem sang of leaves hidden by mist, this one sings of leaves that shine bright even under clouds.
The poet, called "Sosei Hōshi," is Sosei. A son of the Archbishop Henjō, he took holy orders and lived at the Urin'in, among other places. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets, and his "ima komu to iishi bakari ni nagatsuki no" is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

The first line, "Kagamiyama," is a poetic place in Ōmi. The name "kagami," mirror, forms associated words with "akaku" in the fourth line and "kumori," clouding, in the second.
In the second line, "kakikumoru" means to cloud over entirely: "the mountain all clouded."
The third line, "shigururedo," means "though showers fall."
In the fourth line, "akaku" is a pivot word meaning both "red," the color of the leaves, and "bright," through the link with the mirror. "Zo" is a binding particle.
The last line, "aki wa miekeru," means "autumn could be seen," with "zo" in the fourth line and the attributive "keru" forming a kakarimusubi pattern.
Author: Sosei
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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