Tou hito mo ima wa arashi no yamakaze ni hito matsumushi no koe zo kanashiki - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

訪ふ人も今はあらしの山風に
人まつ虫の声ぞ悲しき

Roma-ji: Tou hito mo ima wa arashi no yamakaze ni hito matsumushi no koe zo kanashiki
English Translation: Visitors, I think,
will come no more, as the storm
wind blows from the hills,
and the pine crickets waiting
sing with voices full of grief.
Meaning: There will be no one coming to visit now; in the stormy mountain wind, the voices of the pine crickets, waiting for someone, sound so sad.
Commentary: Book Three Autumn Poems 205

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
In late autumn, when fierce winds blow down from the hills, surely no one will come to visit, yet the voices of the pine crickets, whose name means waiting, still ring out sadly. Using two pivot words, "arashi" and "matsu," the poem portrays the loneliness of a mountain village where visits have ceased.

First line, "tou hito mo," means "visitors too."
Second line, "ima wa arashi no," is a pivot word in which "arashi" means both "araji" (there will be none) and a storm wind.
Third line, "yamakaze ni," means "in the wind blowing down from the hills," taking up the storm of the second line.
Fourth line, "hito matsumushi no," is a pivot word in which "matsu" means both waiting for someone and the pine cricket, the same phrase as the fourth line of 181 in this book. Whereas 181 sang of pine crickets still waiting after the promised time had passed, this poem sings of crickets waiting though they know no one will come, deepening the loneliness of the waiting heart.
Final line, "koe zo kanashiki," means "their voices are sad," with "zo" resolved by the attributive "kanashiki."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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