Samidare wa iwa seku numa no mizu fukami wakeshi ishima no kayoiji mo nashi

五月雨は岩堰く沼の水深み
分けし石間の通ひ路もなし

Roma-ji: Samidare wa iwa seku numa no mizu fukami wakeshi ishima no kayoiji mo nashi
English Translation: In the summer rain,
where the rocks hold back the marsh,
the water is so deep
that the path between the stones
I once crossed is there no more.
Meaning: In the early summer rains, the marsh held back by the rocks has grown so deep that the path between the stones I used to make my way through is gone.
Commentary: Summer Poems 209

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Early summer rains"
This is the third of the early summer rain poems. The rains have deepened the marsh held back by rocks, and the path between the stones that the poet used to pick his way along has sunk beneath the water and vanished. It shows a mountain village cut off from its daily paths by the long rains.
Where the preceding poem inferred the rising water from the waves on a bridge, this one tells of a path drowned beneath it, showing the rainy season's waters pressing ever closer upon daily life.

First line, “samidare wa”: in the season of the early summer rains, singled out with wa.
Second line, “iwa seku numa no”: a marsh whose waters are held back by rocks.
Third line, “mizu fukami”: an adjective stem with mi, giving the reason, because the water is deep.
Fourth line, “wakeshi ishima no”: shi is the attributive of the past ki, pointing to the gaps between stones the poet used to pass through.
Fifth line, “kayoiji mo nashi”: there is no longer any path to come and go, stating flatly that the way is closed by the long rains.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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