Na ni wa iedo kuroku mo miezu Urushigawa sasuga ni wataru mizu wa nurumeri - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

名には言へど黒くも見えず漆河
さすがに渡る水はぬるめり

Roma-ji: Na ni wa iedo kuroku mo miezu Urushigawa sasuga ni wataru mizu wa nurumeri
English Translation: Though it bears the name,
it looks not black in the least,
Urushi River;
yet, as one might expect, the water
that one wades seems lacquer-warm.
Meaning: Though it is called Urushi River, "Lacquer River," it does not look black at all; yet, as one might expect, the water one wades through seems warm, as though lacquered.
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems II 549

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet says that Urushi River does not look black though its name speaks of lacquer, yet the water one wades through is warm, as if lacquer had been applied. Taking up the "lacquer" in the place name Urushi, it shows the gap between a name and a river that is not black, while through a pivot on "nuru," to "apply" lacquer and to "grow warm," it also finds something worthy of the name. Following 547 and 548, it is the third poem in the sequence on place names that are names only, and where those two end by showing the difference between name and reality, this one closes the sequence by finding a point where the name rings true.

First line, "na ni wa iedo," means "though it is said in name," a hypermetric line of six syllables. Like the first lines of the two preceding poems, "na nomi shite," it begins by taking up the name.
Second line, "kuroku mo miezu," means "does not look black," with the blackness of lacquer in mind.
Third line, "Urushigawa," is a river bearing "lacquer" in its name, linked to "kuroku" in the second line.
Fourth line, "sasuga ni wataru," means "yet still, wading," turning from the gap between name and reality in the upper verse.
Final line, "mizu wa nurumeri," means "the water seems warm," with "nuru" a pivot word on "applying" lacquer and water "growing warm." "Meri" is an auxiliary of inference.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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