Samidare wa chikaku narurashi yodogawa no ayame no kusa mo mikusa oinikeri - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

五月雨は近くなるらし淀河の
あやめの草もみくさ生ひにけり

Roma-ji: Samidare wa chikaku narurashi yodogawa no ayame no kusa mo mikusa oinikeri
English Translation: The rains of the fifth month
must be drawing near, it seems;
on the Yodo River,
the iris grass too is grown
thick among the water weeds.
Meaning: The early summer rains must be drawing near, for along the Yodo River the iris grass has grown thick among the water plants.
Commentary: Book Two Summer Poems 108

Headnote: "For a poetry contest in the reign of Engi"
Seeing the iris grass grown thick among the water plants along the Yodo River, the poet senses that the season of the early summer rains is near. With its sketch-like quality, the poem perceives the turning of the season in the growth of waterside plants. According to the headnote, it was submitted to a poetry contest held in the Engi era of Emperor Daigo.

First line, "samidare wa," refers to the long rains of the Fifth Month. Here the early summer rains appear for the first time in this book, and poems on them follow from 116 to 118.
Second line, "chikaku narurashi," means "it seems to be drawing near," with "rashi" as an auxiliary of inference based on evidence. The poem pauses here.
Third line, "yodogawa no," refers to the Yodo River in Yamashiro Province. The Yodo area is also sung of in 113 and 114 of this book.
Fourth line, "ayame no kusa mo," refers to iris grass, used for the festival of the fifth day of the Fifth Month. Poems on iris grass continue from here through 111.
Final line, "mikusa oinikeri," means "the water plants have grown thick," with "keri" as an exclamatory auxiliary. It gives the grounds for the inference in the second line.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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