Omowazu ni yoshi aru shizu no sumika kana tsuta no momiji o noki ni hawasete

思はずによしある賤の住処かな
蔦の紅葉を軒に這はせて

Roma-ji: Omowazu ni yoshi aru shizu no sumika kana tsuta no momiji o noki ni hawasete
English Translation: Unexpectedly,
what a tasteful dwelling place
for a humble man,
with the ivy's autumn red
trailing all along its eaves.
Meaning: What an unexpectedly charming dwelling for a humble man, with the reddened ivy trained to trail along its eaves.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 481

Headnote: "On seeing ivy leaves charmingly colored on a humble house"
The headnote tells us this was composed on seeing ivy leaves colored charmingly on a humble house. Though it is the rough dwelling of a humble man, it has its reddened ivy trailing along the eaves and is unexpectedly charming. In the pairing of a humble house and beautiful autumn leaves the poet finds an unlooked-for grace.
In 347 the poet regretted having passed by a humble hut, scorning it, without knowing how the moonlight leaked in. As if acting on that regret, this poem finds unexpected charm in a humble dwelling, so the two poems answer each other.

First line, “omowazu ni”: unexpectedly.
Second line, “yoshi aru shizu no”: yoshi is charm or taste and shizu a humble person, of a humble person with taste.
Third line, “sumika kana”: what a dwelling, with kana exclamatory; the poem breaks after the third line.
Fourth line, “tsuta no momiji o”: the reddened ivy.
Fifth line, “noki ni hawasete”: se is causative, having it trail along the eaves, giving afterward by inversion the reason for the charm.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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