Tachikaeri nurete wa hinuru shio nareba Ikuta no ura no saga to koso mire - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

立ち帰り濡れては干ぬる潮なれば
生田の浦のさがとこそ見れ

Roma-ji: Tachikaeri nurete wa hinuru shio nareba Ikuta no ura no saga to koso mire
English Translation: Returning again,
wet, then dry once more—
such is the tide,
and I see it as the nature
of the shore of Ikuta
Meaning: The tide comes back again and again, wet and then dry once more; I see that as simply the way of the shore at Ikuta.
Commentary: Book Nine Love Poems I 533

Headnote: "Reply."
The poet answers that the tide comes back again and again, wet and then dry once more, and that this is simply the way of the shore of Ikuta. Taking up the lament of the preceding poem, she parries that tears which dry so quickly cannot be sincere.
It is a reply to the preceding poem. It answers "Ikuta no ura," "tachikaeri" and "nurasu" with "tachikaeri," "nurete wa hinuru" and "Ikuta no ura."
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us. The text gives the poet as "yomibito mo," which is treated here as "anonymous."

The first line, "Tachikaeri," means "coming back again and again," the same word as the third line of the preceding poem.
The second line, "nurete wa hinuru," means "wet and then dry again," taking up "uchinurasu" in the last line of the preceding poem.
The third line, "shio nareba," means "since it is the tide."
The fourth line, "Ikuta no ura no," means "of the shore of Ikuta," taking up the second line of the preceding poem.
In the last line, "saga" means "nature, way," and the particle "koso" and the perfective "mire" form a kakarimusubi pattern.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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