Shitamomiji suru o ba shirade matsu no ki no ue no midori o tanomikeru kana - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

下紅葉するをば知らで松の木の
上の緑を頼みけるかな

Roma-ji: Shitamomiji suru o ba shirade matsu no ki no ue no midori o tanomikeru kana
English Translation: Not knowing the leaves
low down had turned to crimson,
of the old pine tree
the green that showed up above
was what I relied upon.
Meaning: Not knowing the lower leaves had turned to crimson, I relied upon the green at the top of the pine.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 844

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sent to a woman"
The poem says that, not knowing the lower leaves had turned red, one relied on the unchanging green at the top of the pine. The headnote shows it was sent to a woman. Taking the evergreen pine as a figure for an unchanging heart, it laments having trusted the constancy of the surface without noticing that, in the unseen lower leaves, the heart had been changing.

First line, "shitamomiji," means "the lower leaves turning red," overlaid with a change of heart where it is not seen. Like "shitaba" in 838 and 840, it sings of lower leaves changing color.
Second line, "suru o ba shirade," means "not knowing it was so."
Third line, "matsu no ki no," means "of the pine tree." The pine, evergreen, is a figure for an unchanging heart.
Fourth line, "ue no midori o," means "the green above," pairing with "shita," below, in the first line.
Final line, "tanomikeru kana," means "how I relied on it," with "keru" an exclamation of realization.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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