Ikemizu ni migiwa no sakura chirishikite nami no hana koso sakari narikere - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

池水に汀の桜散りしきて
浪の花こそ盛りなりけれ

Roma-ji: Ikemizu ni migiwa no sakura chirishikite nami no hana koso sakari narikere
English Translation: Upon the pond's water
the cherries along the shore
have fallen and spread;
now the blossoms on the waves
are at their very height
Meaning: The cherries along the shore have scattered over the pond until it is covered, and now it is the blossoms on the waves that are at their height.
Commentary: Book Two Spring Poems II 78

Headnote: "Composed on the topic 'Blossoms by the Pond' while still a prince, during a visit to the Toba Palace"
Composed by Go-Shirakawa while he was still a prince, during a visit to the Toba Palace, on the topic "Blossoms by the Pond." The cherries blooming at the pond's edge have fallen and covered the water; the flowers on the branches are past their peak, but the flowers floating on the waves now seem to be in full bloom. Drawing on the expression "flowers of the waves" for white breaking water, the poet sees a pond filled with petals as a second season of blossoms.
The author, "Poem by the Retired Emperor," is Emperor Go-Shirakawa, fourth son of Emperor Toba, who ruled as retired emperor for many years. The Senzai Wakashū was compiled at his command, which is why he is identified simply as "the Retired Emperor."

First line, "ikemizu ni": "upon the water of the pond" at the Toba Palace, picking up the headnote's topic. Like the preceding poem, 77, this is a poem from the Toba Palace, and after blossoms piled beneath a tree come blossoms spread over water.
Second line, "migiwa no sakura": "migiwa" is the water's edge, so these are cherries blooming along the shore.
Third line, "chirishikite": "having fallen and spread over everything."
Fourth line, "nami no hana koso": "nami no hana," flowers of the waves, usually likens white waves to flowers, but here means the petals themselves floating on the water. The emphatic "koso" links with "kere" in the last line. In 87 through 89 of this book, the blossoms of Shiga and the waves are likewise layered together.
Fifth line, "sakari narikere": "kere" is the realized form of "keri," expressing discovery and closing the construction with "koso." It voices the finding that the blossoms' true height is on the pond, after they have fallen.
Author: Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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