Asajū no nobe ni shi areba mizu mo naki ike ni tsumitsuru wakana narikeri - Tosa Nikki(English Translation & Meaning)

淺茅生の野邊にしあれば水もなき
池につみつるわかななりけり

Roma-ji: Asajū no nobe ni shi areba mizu mo naki ike ni tsumitsuru wakana narikeri
English Translation: Since this is a moor
where the low cogon grass grows,
in a pond with no
water at all they were picked—
these tender greens of springtime
Meaning: Because this is a moor where only low grasses grow, these young spring greens were gathered from a pond without any water at all.
Commentary: 16 The Seventh Day of the First Month: Spring Greens at Ōminato and a Child's Reply

Even after the new year began, the party remained at Ōminato. The seventh day of the first month was the day of the White Horse Festival in the capital, but here all they could see was the whiteness of the waves. Amid this, from someone living at a place called Ike, or "Pond," came load after load of long chests carried on poles, filled not with carp but with crucian carp and other fish from river and sea, accompanied by young spring greens. It was those greens that reminded them this was the seventh day.
The sender was a woman of good standing who had come down to Tosa with her husband and lived at the place called Ike. On this day there was also a man who came calling with a packed lunch, but the diary notes that his name cannot be recalled.
This poem came attached to the gift of spring greens and other things. It plays on the fact that Ike is a place name.
The diarist found the poem delightful. The contents of the long chests were shared out even among the children, everyone ate their fill, and the boatmen were so content that they drummed on their bellies.

The first line, "Asajū no," means "where low cogon grass grows." In the second line, "nobe ni shi areba," "shi" is an emphatic particle, giving the reason: since this is a moor. The third line, "mizu mo naki," means "without water."
In the fourth line, "ike ni tsumitsuru," "ike" is a pivot word joining the place name Ike and an ordinary pond full of water, and the charm lies in the surprise of greens picked from a pond with no water. "Tsuru" is the attributive form of the perfective auxiliary "tsu." The final line, "wakana narikeri," closes with a note of wonder: these are spring greens.
A pond ought to hold water, yet because this is a moor the greens were picked from a waterless pond: the poem makes playful use of the place name. It joins the courtesy of sending greens for the seventh day, a seasonal custom, with a light and nimble wit.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Tosa Nikki
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