Tachikomuru kiri no shita ni mo uzumorete kokoro haresenu miyamabe no sato

立ちこむる霧の下にも埋もれて
心晴れせぬ深山辺の里

Roma-ji: Tachikomuru kiri no shita ni mo uzumorete kokoro haresenu miyamabe no sato
English Translation: Underneath the mist
that rises and enfolds it,
buried deep below,
never can my heart grow clear
in this hamlet by the hills.
Meaning: Buried beneath the mist that settles over everything, this village by the deep mountains is a place where my heart can never clear.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 427

Headnote: "Mist at a mountain dwelling"
The topic is mist settling over a dwelling in the mountains. The village near the deep mountains is buried beneath the mist that hangs over all, and just as the mist does not lift, neither does the heart. The scene of a village shut in by mist is laid over a heart that cannot clear.
The closing miyamabe no sato is the same as in 254, the opening poem of this book, and 301, and here the village is sung as one shut in by mist. The village that first knew autumn by the wind and thought of autumn leaves in the showers is here buried in mist, a village where the heart cannot clear.

First line, “tachikomuru”: settling over everything, modifying kiri in the second line.
Second line, “kiri no shita ni mo”: beneath the mist, mo implying in mist as well as in the depth of the mountains.
Third line, “uzumorete”: completely covered.
Fourth line, “kokoro haresenu”: the heart never clearing, laid over the mist that does not lift.
Fifth line, “miyamabe no sato”: ending on a noun, the same last line as 254 and 301.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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