Fuyu samumi kōranu mizu wa nakeredomo yoshino no taki wa tayuru yo mo nashi - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

冬寒み凍らぬ水はなけれども
吉野の滝は絶ゆる世もなし

Roma-ji: Fuyu samumi kōranu mizu wa nakeredomo yoshino no taki wa tayuru yo mo nashi
English Translation: In the winter cold
no water stays unfrozen,
and yet the cascade
of Yoshino never once
ceases in all its ages.
Meaning: In the cold of winter there is no water that does not freeze, yet the falls of Yoshino never cease.
Commentary: Book Four Winter Poems 235

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
There is no water that does not freeze in the cold of winter, yet the falls of Yoshino alone flow on without ceasing. Amid a series of poems on ice, it praises the force of the falls that never freeze, with admiration for what never runs out.

First line, "fuyu samumi," means "winter being cold," a construction adding "mi" to an adjective stem to express cause or reason.
Second line, "kōranu mizu wa," means "water that does not freeze." 227 in this book also sings of unfrozen water, but there it was due to the fire of longing.
Third line, "nakeredomo," means "though there is none," expressing contrast.
Fourth line, "yoshino no taki wa," refers to the falls of Yoshino in Yamato, thought to be the Miyataki rapids on the Yoshino River.
Final line, "tayuru yo mo nashi," means "there is no time it ceases."
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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