classic waka stream

常よりも秋になるをの松風は
わきて身にしむ心地こそすれ
Roma-ji

Tsune yori mo aki ni Naruo no matsukaze wa wakite mi ni shimu kokochi koso sure

English Translation
More than common days,
as autumn comes to Naruo,
the wind in its pines
pierces to my very flesh,
so it feels to me at least.
Meaning
More than at any ordinary time, the wind in the pines at Naruo, now that autumn has come, seems to pierce me to the very body.
Commentary
Autumn Poems 257

Headnote: "Hearing the wind in the pines at a place called Naruo in early autumn"
The headnote tells us the poet heard the wind in the pines at Naruo in early autumn. Naruo is a seaside place in Settsu Province, around present-day Nishinomiya in Hyōgo, known for its pines. The wind in the pines there, now that autumn has come, pierces the body more than usual, the poet says.
Playing on the place name Naruo and aki ni naru, autumn comes, the poem turns the sound of the pine wind heard on a journey into a real sense of autumn's arrival. The flow from the opening of the section, knowing autumn by the wind, moves here to the pine wind of a place visited on a journey.

First line, “tsune yori mo”: more than usual, modifying wakite mi ni shimu in the fourth line.
Second line, “aki ni Naruo no”: naruo is a pivot word joining aki ni naru, autumn comes, with the place name Naruo, meaning of Naruo now that autumn has come.
Third line, “matsukaze wa”: the wind in the pines, whose sound the poet hears; wa singles it out as different from other winds.
Fourth line, “wakite mi ni shimu”: wakite means especially, intensifying the sense of autumn wind piercing the body.
Fifth line, “kokochi koso sure”: koso is answered by the perfective sure, emphasizing how keenly it is felt.
Author
Saigyō
Source
Sankashu
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