Shigure ni mo ame ni mo arade kimi kouru toshi no furu ni mo sode wa nurekeri - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

時雨にも雨にもあらで君恋ふる
年のふるにも袖は濡れけり

Roma-ji: Shigure ni mo ame ni mo arade kimi kouru toshi no furu ni mo sode wa nurekeri
English Translation: Not by winter showers,
nor by any rain that falls,
but by the passing
of years in longing for you,
I find my sleeves are soaked.
Meaning: Not by winter showers nor by rain, but by the years that pass in longing for you, my sleeves have been drenched.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems I 688

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poem says that not by showers or rain but by the years passing in longing for the beloved, the poet's sleeves have been drenched with tears. Pivoting "furu" on years "passing" and rain "falling," it likens the tears of years spent in love to rain. It echoes "shigure gokochi wa ware nomi zo suru" in 651 in linking winter showers with the tears of love.

First line, "shigure ni mo," means "not by winter showers," sharing the word "shigure" with the fourth line of 651, "shigure gokochi wa."
Second line, "ame ni mo arade," means "nor by rain," with "de" a negative conjunctive particle.
Third line, "kimi kouru," means "longing for you," the same line as the third line of 667.
Fourth line, "toshi no furu ni mo," is a pivot word: "furu" means years "passing" and rain "falling."
Final line, "sode wa nurekeri," means "my sleeves are soaked, I find," with "keri" expressing a sigh of realization.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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