Ne no hi shi ni kasumi tanabiku nobe ni idete hatsuuguisu no koe o kikitsuru

子の日しに霞たなびく野辺に出でて
初鶯の声を聞きつる

Roma-ji: Ne no hi shi ni kasumi tanabiku nobe ni idete hatsuuguisu no koe o kikitsuru
English Translation: For the Day of the Rat
I went out on the meadow
where the haze trailed low,
and there I heard for the first time
the voice of the warbler sing.
Meaning: Going out for the Day of the Rat to the meadow where the haze trailed low, I heard the first warbler of the year.
Commentary: Spring Poems 16

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "The Day of the Rat"
Going out to the hazy fields for the Day of the Rat, the poet hears the first warbler of the year. To the pleasure of the pine-pulling rite is added the joy of hearing the first song, making a perfect spring day.
Echoing tanabikitekeri in the preceding poem, this poem also shows fields where haze trails low, adding the aural delight of the warbler's song to the hazy scene. The three Rat Day poems widen the view step by step, from blessings of longevity to haze to the warbler.

First line, “ne no hi shi ni”: in order to enjoy the Day of the Rat.
Second line, “kasumi tanabiku”: haze trailing in long bands, carrying on the scene from the last line of the preceding poem.
Third line, “nobe ni idete”: going out into the fields, a line with an extra syllable.
Fourth line, “hatsuuguisu no”: the first warbler of the year.
Fifth line, “koe o kikitsuru”: the poem ends on the attributive form of the perfective tsu, leaving the joy of hearing the first song to linger.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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