Ashi no ura no ito kitanaku mo miyuru kana nami wa yorite mo arawazarikeri - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あしのうらのいときたなくも見ゆるかな
波は寄りても洗はざりけり

Roma-ji: Ashi no ura no ito kitanaku mo miyuru kana nami wa yorite mo arawazarikeri
English Translation: The bay of reeds, your
soles of feet, how very foul
they seem to my eyes—
the waves, though they came lapping,
never washed them clean, I see
Meaning: How very dirty the Bay of Reeds—the soles of your feet—appears! The waves, it seems, came lapping but never washed it clean.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems IV 1262

Headnote: "When I was in retreat at a temple, someone I knew had a room next to mine for the New Year's devotions; at dawn as she left she dropped a very dirty pair of socks, and I picked them up and sent them back with this."
The poet exclaims how dirty the Bay of Reeds looks and says the waves, though they came, never washed it. Joining "ashi no ura," a bay of reeds, with "ashi no ura," the soles of the feet, he teasingly returns the dirty socks someone dropped, likening them to a bay the waves left unwashed.
According to the headnote, during a retreat at a temple, an acquaintance had a room alongside for the New Year's devotions, and at dawn on leaving dropped a very soiled pair of socks, which he picked up and sent back with this poem.
The poet is anonymous and the name is not known.

The first line, "ashi no ura no," is a pivot word joining "ashi no ura," a bay of reeds, with "ashi no ura," the soles of the feet; it has an extra syllable.
The second line, "ito kitanaku mo," means "so very foul."
The third line, "miyuru kana," means "how it appears," with "kana" exclamatory. The poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "nami wa yorite mo," means "though the waves came lapping," with "waves" and "lap" associated words with "bay."
The last line, "arawazarikeri," means "they never washed it, I see," with "keri" for realization.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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