Nihodori no kōri no seki ni tojirarete tamamo no yado o kare ya shinuran - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

鳰鳥の氷の関に閉ぢられて
玉藻の宿をかれやしぬらん

Roma-ji: Nihodori no kōri no seki ni tojirarete tamamo no yado o kare ya shinuran
English Translation: The little grebe,
shut within the barrier
the ice has made,
has it left its home in the weeds,
now that the jewel-weeds have withered?
Meaning: Has the little grebe, shut in by the barrier of ice, left its home among the jewel-weeds, now withered?
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Autumn Poems 1145

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "From among the three hundred sixty poems"
Likening the frozen surface to a barrier gate, the poet wonders whether the little grebe, shut in by that barrier, has left its home among the jewel-weeds. The headnote continues from the preceding poem, 1144, and this too is one of the Maigetsushū. It portrays the scene of frozen water through the plight of a water bird.
The author is Sone no Yoshitada, called Sotan from his post as a junior official of Tango, a poet who composed the Maigetsushū, a cycle of three hundred sixty poems for the whole year, and who was known for a fresh style that boldly took in everyday words.

First line, "nihodori no," means "the little grebe."
Second line, "kōri no seki ni," likens the frozen surface to a barrier that stops all passage.
Third line, "tojirarete," means "shut in."
Fourth line, "tamamo no yado o," means "its home among the lovely water weeds."
Final line, "kare ya shinuran," turns on the pivot word "kare," joining "karu," to leave its home, and "karu," the jewel-weeds withering. "Ya" is a questioning binding particle resolved by the attributive form of the auxiliary of present conjecture, "ran."
Author: Sone no Yoshitada
Source: Shui Wakashu
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