Misogi shite nusa kirinagasu kawa no se ni yagate akimeku kaze zo suzushiki

禊して幣切り流す川の瀬に
やがて秋めく風ぞ涼しき

Roma-ji: Misogi shite nusa kirinagasu kawa no se ni yagate akimeku kaze zo suzushiki
English Translation: Purified by rite,
where the cut offerings float
down the river shoals,
soon now taking autumn's air,
how cool the wind is blowing.
Meaning: At the river shallows where I purify myself and cut the offerings to send them floating away, a wind already turning autumnal blows so cool.
Commentary: Summer Poems 253

Headnote: "The purification of the Sixth Month"
This poem, composed on the topic of the purification of the Sixth Month, closes the summer section. The minazuki barae was a rite held on the last day of the Sixth Month, in which people cleansed themselves by a river to drive away the sins and defilements of the past half year. As the poet purifies himself and cuts the offerings to send them down the stream, a cool wind already turning autumnal blows across the shallows. Within the rite that ends summer he senses autumn's arrival.
The purification marks the end of summer, and autumn begins the very next day. Where 174 at the head of this book opened the summer section with lingering attachment to spring, a heart still longing for it though the robes were changed, this closing poem ends the section with a wind turning to autumn, so the summer section is framed by a lingering attachment to the season before and a foretaste of the season to come.

First line, “misogi shite”: misogi is to cleanse oneself in the water of a river and drive away defilement.
Second line, “nusa kirinagasu”: nusa are offerings of hemp or paper made in prayer to the gods; after the purification they were cut into pieces and set adrift on the river.
Third line, “kawa no se ni”: the shallows of the river where the purification is performed.
Fourth line, “yagate akimeku”: yagate means straightaway, showing the air of autumn arriving at the very site of the rite that ends summer.
Fifth line, “kaze zo suzushiki”: zo is answered by the attributive suzushiki, stressing the coolness of the autumnal wind and closing the summer section.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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