Kakikurashi shigururu sora o nagametsutsu omoi koso yare kannabi no mori - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

かきくらし時雨るる空を眺めつつ
思ひこそやれ神なびの森

Roma-ji: Kakikurashi shigururu sora o nagametsutsu omoi koso yare kannabi no mori
English Translation: Gazing out upon
a sky that has darkened all
with cold showers falling,
how my thoughts go out to you,
grove where the gods have their seat.
Meaning: Gazing at the sky darkened all over with cold showers, my thoughts go out to the sacred grove of Kannabi.
Commentary: Book Four Winter Poems 217

Headnote: "On a day when cold showers fell"
On a day when cold showers fall and darken the whole sky, the poet gazes at that sky and lets his thoughts travel to the distant grove of Kannabi. Drawing on the belief that showers dye the trees, he imagines how the grove, famous for its autumn leaves, must look now. According to the headnote, it was composed on a day when cold showers fell.
The author, written as Tsurayuki, is Ki no Tsurayuki. The leading compiler of the Kokinshū, he wrote its Kana Preface and the Tosa Diary, and he is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "kakikurashi," means "darkening the whole sky." Like the second line of 215 in this book, "yama kakikumori," it depicts the dark sky that brings the showers.
Second line, "shigururu sora o," means "the sky where cold showers fall."
Third line, "nagametsutsu," means "gazing on while lost in thought," with "tsutsu" expressing continuation.
Fourth line, "omoi koso yare," means "how my thoughts go out," the emphatic particle "koso" being resolved by the perfective form "yare." The poem pauses here, and by inversion the object of these thoughts is given in the final line. 230 in this book likewise says "omoi koso yare," sharing the conceit of moving from the cold close at hand to something far away.
Final line, "kannabi no mori," is a grove where a deity dwells; the one near Tatsuta was famous for its autumn leaves. The poem ends on a noun. It echoes "kannabi no Mimuro no yama" in 219 of this book.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Shui Wakashu
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