Tachiyorite tonari tou beki kaki ni soite hima naku haeru yaemugura kana

立ち寄りて隣訪ふべき垣に添ひて
ひまなく這へる八重葎かな

Roma-ji: Tachiyorite tonari tou beki kaki ni soite hima naku haeru yaemugura kana
English Translation: Stopping by, I'd call
on my neighbor; all along
the fence I would pass,
crawling, leaving not a gap,
the thick weeds have overgrown.
Meaning: I meant to stop by and call on my neighbor, but along the fence the dense creeping weeds have spread without leaving a single gap.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 471

Headnote: "When I lived in Saga and went to the neighboring monk's lodging on some business, the creeping weeds had grown so thick there was no path"
The headnote tells us that when the poet lived at Saga, he went to the neighboring monk's lodging on some business, and the creeping weeds had grown so thick there was no path. He means to stop by and call on his neighbor, but along the fence the dense weeds have spread without a gap, so he cannot pass. The loneliness of life in a mountain village where people no longer come and go is expressed through the weeds that divide him from his neighbor.
Like 444, in which the poet visits an old friend's overgrown garden, it sings of a scene where thick grass bars the way to visitors. The neglect of a dwelling in the hills is placed within the book's movement toward late autumn.

First line, “tachiyorite”: stopping by.
Second line, “tonari tou beki”: meaning to call on my neighbor, with beki expressing intention.
Third line, “kaki ni soite”: a hypermetric line of six syllables, along the fence.
Fourth line, “hima naku haeru”: spread without a gap; ru is the attributive of the continuative ri.
Fifth line, “yaemugura kana”: yaemugura are creeping weeds grown in thick layers, closing with kana.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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