Kozue utsu ame ni shiorete chiru hana no oshiki kokoro o nani ni tatoen

梢打つ雨にしをれて散る花の
惜しき心を何にたとへん

Roma-ji: Kozue utsu ame ni shiorete chiru hana no oshiki kokoro o nani ni tatoen
English Translation: Beaten on the boughs,
drooping in the pelting rain,
falling blossoms there:
this regret I feel for them,
to what thing can I compare?
Meaning: The blossoms droop in the rain beating on the treetops and fall. To what could I ever compare the grief I feel for them?
Commentary: Spring Poems 141

Headnote: "Blossoms falling in the rain"
The topic is blossoms falling in the rain. The grief the poet feels for the blossoms drooping under the rain that beats on the treetops and falling is so deep that nothing could compare to it.
Following the blossoms scattered by wind in the preceding poem, this one turns to blossoms scattered by rain. Saying the feeling is beyond comparison, the poet conveys all the more how great it is. The words ame ni shiore also appear in the last line of 101, where blossoms drooping in the rain were seen as longing for the past.

First line, “kozue utsu”: beating on the treetops, a heavy rain.
Second line, “ame ni shiorete”: drooping wet in the rain.
Third line, “chiru hana no”: of the blossoms falling.
Fourth line, “oshiki kokoro o”: the heart that grieves for them.
Fifth line, “nani ni tatoen”: to what shall I compare it, closing on a grief beyond comparison.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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