Mizu mo se ni ukinuru toki wa shigarami no uchi no to no to mo mienu momijiba - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

水も狭にうきぬる時はしがらみの
うちのとのとも見えぬ紅葉葉

Roma-ji: Mizu mo se ni ukinuru toki wa shigarami no uchi no to no to mo mienu momijiba
English Translation: When they drift so thick
the water's face grows narrow,
which side of the weir,
within or without, none can tell—
so the autumn leaves lie
Meaning: When the autumn leaves float so thick that they crowd the water's face, one cannot tell whether they lie inside the weir or outside it.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Parting Poems 1359

Headnote: "On the place called Uchitono."
The poet says that when they float so thickly they crowd the water, the autumn leaves cannot be told as inside or outside the weir. Weaving in the place name Uchitono, she sings of leaves so many that they cover the river and blur the line between inside and outside the weir.
According to the headnote, it was composed on the place called Uchitono. The text's second line reads "ukinuru toki wa," which does not agree with the reading line, "ukitaru toki wa." The text's wording is followed here.
The poet, Ise, was a daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugukage, Governor of Ise, and served Fujiwara no Onshi, consort of Emperor Uda. She received the emperor's favor and later bore Nakatsukasa to Prince Atsuyoshi. One of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals, she is represented in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu by "Naniwagata mijikaki ashi no fushi no ma mo."

The first line, "Mizu mo se ni," means "so that the water itself grows narrow."
The second line, "ukinuru toki wa," means "when they float so," the leaves floating on the water.
The third line, "shigarami no," means "of the weir," a fence set in a stream to hold back its flow.
The fourth line, "uchi no to no to mo," is a pivot word weaving in the place name Uchitono with "uchi no, to no," inside or outside the weir.
The last line, "mienu momijiba," means "the autumn leaves, not to be told apart," ending on a noun.
Author: Ise
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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