Shiranami no uchi ya kaesu to matsu hodo ni hama no masago no kazu zo tsumoreru - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

白波の打ちやかへすと待つほどに
浜の真砂の数ぞ積もれる

Roma-ji: Shiranami no uchi ya kaesu to matsu hodo ni hama no masago no kazu zo tsumoreru
English Translation: The white waves, I thought,
would strike and turn the tide back,
but while I waited,
like the sands upon the shore,
the count has piled ever higher.
Meaning: While I waited, thinking you might strike back like the white waves breaking, my count of wins has piled up like the countless sands upon the shore.
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems II 552

Headnote: "In the Tenryaku era, when the Ichijō Regent was Head Chamberlain, the emperor played go with him wagering a sash, and as the regent lost and the emperor's count of wins grew large, he returned the sash with this poem"
The poet says that while waiting for his opponent to strike back like the white waves, his count of wins piled up like the sands of the shore. The headnote shows that in the reign of Emperor Murakami, the emperor played go for a wagered sash with the Ichijō Regent, Fujiwara no Koretada, then Head Chamberlain, and when Koretada lost and the emperor's wins mounted, the emperor returned the sash with this poem. Using the seaside images of white waves and the sands of the shore, he speaks magnanimously of having won too much and shows his kindness in returning the sash.
The author, written as "Imperial composition," is Emperor Murakami. A son of Emperor Daigo, his reign was praised as the Tenryaku rule, and he ordered the compilation of the Gosenshū. The Ichijō Regent is Fujiwara no Koretada, the eldest son of Fujiwara no Morosuke.

First line, "shiranami no," means "the white waves," singing of waves breaking on the shore.
Second line, "uchi ya kaesu to," means "will they strike back," with the waves "striking back" echoing the "striking" of go stones. "Kaesu" is a pivot word on the waves turning back and returning the wagered sash.
Third line, "matsu hodo ni," means "while I waited."
Fourth line, "hama no masago no," means "of the fine sands of the shore," an image of countless numbers. It shares the scene of the shore with the third lines of the next poems, 553 and 554, "hamachidori."
Final line, "kazu zo tsumoreru," means "the count has piled up," speaking of the number of wins at go. The binding particle "zo" is resolved by "ru," the attributive form of the auxiliary "ri."
Author: Emperor Murakami
Source: Shui Wakashu
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