Ame no shita nogaruru hito no nakereba ya kiteshi nureginu hiru yoshi mo naki - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あめのしたのがるる人のなければや
着てし濡れ衣干るよしもなき

Roma-ji: Ame no shita nogaruru hito no nakereba ya kiteshi nureginu hiru yoshi mo naki
English Translation: Is it that no one
under the rainy heavens
can ever escape?
This soaking robe I wear
has no way of drying out.
Meaning: Is it because no one under heaven, under the rain, can escape it, that the wet robe of false blame I wear has no way to dry?
Commentary: Book Nineteen Miscellaneous Love Poems 1216

Headnote: "When he was sent into exile"
The poet asks whether it is because no one under heaven can escape that the wet robe of false blame he wears has no way to dry. The headnote shows it was composed when he was exiled to Dazaifu. Pivoting on "ame no shita," under heaven and under the rain, it sings of the bitterness of being demoted through slander: as a wet robe will not dry under the rain, so in this world there is no way to clear himself of a false charge. Where the preceding poem, 1215, sang of the false blame borne by people in general, here he laments the false blame laid upon himself.
The author, written as "Posthumous Chancellor," is Sugawara no Michizane. A son of Sugawara no Koreyoshi, he was favored by Emperor Uda and rose to Minister of the Right, but was demoted to Provisional Governor-General of Dazaifu and died in exile. He was later granted the title of Chancellor posthumously. He is known for his poem "kono tabi wa" in the Hyakunin Isshu.
The final line of the main text reads "hiru yoshi mo naki," which does not match "hiru yoshi mo nashi" in the reading line. Here the main text is followed.

First line, "ame no shita," is a pivot word meaning "under heaven" and "under the rain." It shares the same pivot with the fourth line of the preceding poem, 1215, "ame no shita ni shi."
Second line, "nogaruru hito no," means "one who can escape."
Third line, "nakereba ya," means "is it because there is none," with "ba" after the perfective form expressing cause and the binding particle "ya" resolved by the attributive "naki" in the final line.
Fourth line, "kiteshi nureginu," means "the wet robe I have worn," with "teshi" perfective and past auxiliaries. It shares the word "nureginu" with the first line of the preceding poem, 1215, "nureginu o."
Final line, "hiru yoshi mo naki," means "has no way to dry," resolving "ya" in the third line with "naki," the attributive form of the adjective "nashi." It lays the robe that will not dry over a false charge that will not be cleared.
Author: Sugawara no Michizane
Source: Shui Wakashu
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