Kaze o nomi hana naki yado wa machimachite izumi no sue o mata musubu kana

風をのみ花なき宿は待ち待ちて
泉の末をまた掬ぶかな

Roma-ji: Kaze o nomi hana naki yado wa machimachite izumi no sue o mata musubu kana
English Translation: Only for the breeze,
in my house without flowers,
waiting, waiting on,
from the far end of the spring
once more I scoop the water.
Meaning: In my house with no flowers, I wait and wait only for a cool breeze, and once again scoop up the water that flows down from my neighbor's spring.
Commentary: Summer Poems 230

Headnote: "My neighbor's spring"
This poem was composed on the topic of a neighbor's spring. In his house without flowers the poet waits and waits for a cool breeze to relieve the summer heat, but none comes, and so once again he scoops up the water flowing down from his neighbor's spring to cool himself.
The modesty of enjoying the neighbor's spring not at its source but only where its stream runs out reveals the summer life of a humble dwelling. Poems seeking coolness continue from here.

First line, “kaze o nomi”: nomi limits it, only the breeze.
Second line, “hana naki yado wa”: the poet's dwelling where no flowers bloom; a house with flowers draws visitors and charm, but this is a lonely one.
Third line, “machimachite”: waiting and waiting, the repeated verb showing how long he waits.
Fourth line, “izumi no sue o”: the lower reaches of the water flowing out from the neighbor's spring.
Fifth line, “mata musubu kana”: musubu is to scoop water in cupped hands, closing with the exclamatory kana.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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