Ajiroki ni kaketsutsu arau karanishiki hi o hete yosuru momiji narikeri - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

綱代木にかけつつ洗ふ唐錦
日を経て寄する紅葉なりけり

Roma-ji: Ajiroki ni kaketsutsu arau karanishiki hi o hete yosuru momiji narikeri
English Translation: On the fishing weir's posts,
caught and washed again and again,
brocade from Cathay—
it is the autumn leaves that
drift there day after day.
Meaning: The Chinese brocade caught on the posts of the fishing weir and washed over and over turns out to be the autumn leaves that drift there day after day.
Commentary: Book Four Winter Poems 216

Headnote: "For the sliding panels of the Seiryōden in the second year of Kanna, a scene of a fishing weir being set"
The poem likens autumn leaves caught on the posts of a fishing weir and washed by the river water to Chinese brocade being rinsed. It sees the leaves that drift in day after day and gather on the posts as fine imported brocade, lending splendor to the winter river scene. According to the headnote, it was written for a scene of a fishing weir being set, painted on the sliding panels of the Seiryōden in the second year of Kanna (986).
The first line of the main text reads "tsunashiroki" (rope weir posts) and does not match "ajiroki ni" in the kana reading line. It appears to be a copying error for "ajiroki" (weir posts); here the written form of the main text is kept, and the reading follows the kana line as "ajiroki."

First line, "ajiroki ni," means "on the weir posts." Ajiroki are the stakes supporting an ajiro, a weir of woven bamboo or wood set in rivers in winter to catch young sweetfish; those of the Uji River were famous.
Second line, "kaketsutsu arau," means "catching and washing again and again," with "tsutsu" expressing repetition.
Third line, "karanishiki," is fine imported brocade, here a figure for the autumn leaves. Brocade also appears in 220 and 221 of this book, continuing the conceit of seeing the leaves as brocade.
Fourth line, "hi o hete yosuru," means "drifting in over the days."
Final line, "momiji narikeri," means "it was the autumn leaves," with "keri" expressing the exclamation of realization. The poem closes by revealing at last what lies behind the figure.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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