Ashi no ha ni kakurete sumishi tsu no kuni no koya mo arawa ni fuyu wa kinikeri - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

蘆の葉に隠れて住みし津の国の
こやもあらはに冬は来にけり

Roma-ji: Ashi no ha ni kakurete sumishi tsu no kuni no koya mo arawa ni fuyu wa kinikeri
English Translation: In the land of Tsu,
the hut where one dwelt hidden
behind reed leaves now
at Koya stands bare and plain—
winter has come to this place.
Meaning: In the land of Tsu, the hut at Koya, once hidden among the reed leaves, now stands bare to view, for winter has come.
Commentary: Book Four Winter Poems 223

Headnote: "From a hundred-poem sequence"
The poet learns that winter has come because the hut at Koya in the land of Tsu, once hidden by thick reed leaves, now stands exposed as the reeds have withered. The turn of the season is caught in a visible change of scene, and by playing the place name against the word for hut, the poem depicts a lonely dwelling by the water. According to the headnote, it is one of a hundred-poem sequence.
Minamoto no Shigeyuki, of the Seiwa Genji line, he was a poet of the mid-Heian period. A son of Minamoto no Kanenobu, he was adopted by his uncle Minamoto no Kanetada. He served as Provisional Governor of Sagami among other posts and in his last years went down to Mutsu, where he died. He presented a hundred-poem sequence to Emperor Reizei while the latter was crown prince, which is regarded as one of the earliest surviving hundred-poem sequences. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "ashi no ha ni," means "by the reed leaves"; reeds are the representative feature of the waterside around Naniwa in Settsu.
Second line, "kakurete sumishi," means "where one dwelt as if hidden," with "shi" the attributive form of the past auxiliary "ki."
Third line, "tsu no kuni no," means "of the land of Tsu," that is, Settsu Province.
Fourth line, "koya mo arawa ni," plays on Koya, a place name in Settsu, and "koya" (hut), meaning "the hut at Koya too lies bare." It implies that the reeds have withered.
Final line, "fuyu wa kinikeri," means "winter has come," with "ni" perfective and "keri" exclamatory. Placed near the opening of the book, it announces the arrival of winter.
Author: Minamoto no Shigeyuki
Source: Shui Wakashu
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