Sumiyoshi no kishi no fujinami waga yado no matsu no kozue ni iro wa masaraji - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

住吉の岸の藤波我が宿の
松のこずゑに色はまさらじ

Roma-ji: Sumiyoshi no kishi no fujinami waga yado no matsu no kozue ni iro wa masaraji
English Translation: Wisteria waves
on the shores of Sumiyoshi
cannot surpass in hue
the ones on the tips of pines
around this house of mine.
Meaning: Even the wisteria on the famous shores of Sumiyoshi could not surpass in color the wisteria hanging from the pine tops at my house.
Commentary: Book Two Summer Poems 84

Headnote: "A folding-screen poem from the reign of Retired Emperor En'yū"
Even the wisteria on the shores of Sumiyoshi, a celebrated place in poetry, cannot match the color of the wisteria blooming on the pine tops at my house, the poet proudly declares. By invoking the famous wisteria to praise a nearby one, the poem conveys a wish for the prosperity of the household depicted on the screen. According to the headnote, it is a folding-screen poem from the reign of Emperor En'yū.
The author, written as Taira no Kanemori in kana, is Taira no Kanemori. Of a Taira line descended from Emperor Kōkō, he was a poet of the mid-Heian period. He is known for his performance at the palace poetry contest of the fourth year of Tentoku and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "Sumiyoshi no," names Sumiyoshi in Settsu Province, a celebrated poetic place known for its pines.
Second line, "kishi no fujinami," refers to the wisteria clusters on the shore at Sumiyoshi. "Fujinami," literally "wisteria waves," likens the clusters swaying in the wind to waves, and it is also associated with "kishi" (shore).
Third line, "waga yado no," brings in the poet's own house in contrast to famous Sumiyoshi. The contrast between the distant famous place and the house close at hand forms the poem's framework.
Fourth line, "matsu no kozue ni," says the wisteria hangs on the pine tops at the poet's house. Taking up "matsu ni to nomi mo" from the preceding poem, it continues the pairing of pine and wisteria.
Final line, "iro wa masaraji," means "will not surpass in color," with "ji" as an auxiliary of negative conjecture. It indirectly states that the wisteria at the poet's house surpasses that of the famous place.
Author: Taira no Kanemori
Source: Shui Wakashu
Prev Poem: Natsu ni koso saki kakarikere fuji no hana matsu ni to nomi mo omoikeru kana
Next Poem: Murasaki no fuji saku matsu no kozue ni wa moto no midori mo miezu zo arikeru