Kyō zo shiru sono e ni arau karanishiki hagi saku nobe ni arikeru mono o

今日ぞ知るその江に洗ふ唐錦
萩咲く野辺にありけるものを

Roma-ji: Kyō zo shiru sono e ni arau karanishiki hagi saku nobe ni arikeru mono o
English Translation: Only now I know:
the brocade of Cathay, washed
in that distant stream,
all along was to be found
where the bush clover blooms.
Meaning: Only today have I learned it: the Chinese brocade that is washed in that far-off river was here all along, in these fields where the bush clover blooms.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 272

Headnote: "Bush clover of the moor resembling brocade"
The topic is bush clover in the fields resembling brocade. The poet had thought that the Chinese brocade whose colors grow bright when washed in a river belonged to a distant land, but today he learns that it was here all along, in the fields where the bush clover blooms. The beauty of the moor covered in clover is likened to the famous brocade.
The phrase sono e ni arau karanishiki seems to draw on the story of the brocade of Shu, whose colors became vivid when washed in the river there. Following the poems on sleeves taking on the clover's color, this one widens the image to see the whole moor as brocade.

First line, “kyō zo shiru”: zo is answered by the attributive shiru, stressing that today indeed I know; the poem breaks after the first line.
Second line, “sono e ni arau”: sono e, that river, known for the washing of brocade, apparently pointing to the story of the brocade of Shu.
Third line, “karanishiki”: fine brocade brought from China, here the figure for the bush clover of the moor.
Fourth line, “hagi saku nobe ni”: in the moor where bush clover blooms, showing that the brocade of a far land was close at hand.
Fifth line, “arikeru mono o”: keri expresses realization and mono o is an exclamatory ending; it states afterward, by inversion, what was learned in the first line.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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