Ashitazu wa kasumi o wakete kaeru nari mayoishi kumoji kyō ya haruran - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あしたづは霞を分けて帰るなり
迷ひし雲路けふや晴るらん

Roma-ji: Ashitazu wa kasumi o wakete kaeru nari mayoishi kumoji kyō ya haruran
English Translation: The crane of the reeds,
parting the haze, I hear,
will now return home;
the cloud path where it strayed
will surely clear today
Meaning: The crane of the reeds, I hear, will part the haze and return; the cloud path where it lost its way will surely clear today.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems II 1159

Headnote: "Composed and sent when, as I had reported this to the retired emperor, he was deeply moved and indicated that readmission should be granted at once, and commanded that a reply be sent to set the father's heart at ease"
When the wish of the preceding poem, 1158, was reported to the retired emperor, he was deeply moved, indicated that Teika's readmission to the hall should now be granted, and commanded that a reply be sent to ease the father's heart; Sadanaga then composed this poem and sent it to Shunzei. The original adds the note, "people of the time said that his compassion toward this way was no different from that of the sage reigns of old," recording that the people of the day praised the retired emperor's kindness toward the way of poetry as equal to that of the sage rulers of the past. The crane, I hear, will part the haze and return; the cloud path where it strayed will surely clear today, he says. Taking up the words crane, cloud path and haze from the preceding poem just as they are, he announces that Teika will be readmitted and clears the heart of Shunzei, anxious for his son.
The author, "Fujiwara no Sadanaga Ason," was a son of Fujiwara no Mitsufusa. A close retainer of Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa, he served as head chamberlain and rose to councilor. He bore the same name as Jakuren's lay name but was a different person.
This poem closes the second book of miscellaneous poems. As the reply to the preceding poem, 1158, it takes up "ashitazu," "kumoji mayoishi" and the haze, and dispels the fear of "hedatehatsubeki" with "haruran," will clear. The opening poem, 1052, was by Retired Emperor Toba, and the closing poem conveys the kindness of Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa, so the book begins and ends with poems connected with a retired emperor. Where the opening poem lamented age through the flowers of spring, the close of the book ends with the joy of the spring haze clearing.

First line, "ashitazu wa": taking up "ashitazu no" in the first line of the preceding poem, 1158, it stands for Teika.
Second line, "kasumi o wakete": "parting the spring haze." It shares the haze with "kasumi o sae ya" in the fourth line of the preceding poem, 1158, answering the fear that the haze will shut him off with the crane parting the haze to return.
Third line, "kaeru nari": "nari" is the auxiliary of hearsay, understood as "will return, I hear," conveying the retired emperor's wishes. It means a return to the courtiers' hall. The poem pauses here.
Fourth line, "mayoishi kumoji": "the cloud path where it strayed," the way to the court, taking up "kumoji mayoishi" in the second line of the preceding poem, 1158.
Fifth line, "kyō ya haruran": "ya" is an interrogative binding particle, and "ran," the attributive of the auxiliary of present conjecture, closes it, "surely today it will clear." It answers "the heart cleared" of the headnote, laying the clearing of Shunzei's heart over the clearing of the cloud path. Where "itsuka mirubeki" in the fifth line of the opening poem, 1052, doubted the springs to come, this poem closes the book with the joy of clearing on this spring day.
Author: Fujiwara no Sadanaga
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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