Nani to naku noki natsukashiki ume yue ni sumiken hito no kokoro o zo shiru

なにとなく軒なつかしき梅ゆゑに
住みけん人の心をぞ知る

Roma-ji: Nani to naku noki natsukashiki ume yue ni sumiken hito no kokoro o zo shiru
English Translation: Somehow, without cause,
the eaves seem so dear to me
because of the plum,
and I know the very heart
of the one who once lived here.
Meaning: Because of the plum that somehow makes these eaves so dear, I come to know the heart of whoever once lived here.
Commentary: Spring Poems 44

Headnote: "Plum blossoms by an old stone path"
The topic is plum blossoms by the stone path of an old house. Plum is blooming at the eaves of an old house where no one lives any longer, and the poet feels drawn to it for no clear reason. Gazing at the plum, he comes to understand the heart of the person who once loved it and lived there.
Through the plum, the poet shares a feeling across time with a former resident he never met. The plum at the eaves appears like a keepsake of the heart of the one who lived there.

First line, “nani to naku”: for no particular reason.
Second line, “noki natsukashiki”: making the eaves feel dear.
Third line, “ume yue ni”: because of the plum, giving the reason.
Fourth line, “sumiken hito no”: ken is past conjecture, of the person who must once have lived here.
Fifth line, “kokoro o zo shiru”: the emphatic zo forms a kakari-musubi with the attributive shiru, closing with I know that person's heart.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Hitori nuru kusa no makura no utsuriga wa kakine no ume no nioi narikeri
Next Poem: Harusame no noki tarekomuru tsurezure ni hito ni shirarenu hito no sumika ka