Kakikomeshi susono no susuki shimogarete sabishisa masaru shiba no io kana

かきこめし裾野の薄霜枯れて
寂しさまさる柴の庵かな

Roma-ji: Kakikomeshi susono no susuki shimogarete sabishisa masaru shiba no io kana
English Translation: The pampas grasses
that hedged the foothill meadow in
withered by the frost,
deeper grows the loneliness
of my hut of brushwood here.
Meaning: The pampas grass of the foothills that once hedged it in has withered in the frost, and the loneliness of my brushwood hut grows all the deeper.
Commentary: Winter Poems 505

Headnote: "When people were composing on the topic 'withered grass at a mountain dwelling' at the quarters of the Bishop Kakuhan"
The headnote tells us this was composed at the quarters of the Bishop Kakuhan, when people were writing on the topic of withered grass at a mountain dwelling. The pampas grass of the foothills that once grew thick around the hut has withered in the frost, and the loneliness of the brushwood hut has grown deeper. The poem catches the loneliness of a dwelling left exposed when the grass that wrapped it in autumn dies back in winter.
Poem 515 in this book likewise tells of a winter mountain village looking lonely when the vines on its fence have withered in the frost, sharing the same picture of grass around a dwelling withering and the loneliness growing.

First line, “kakikomeshi”: kakikomu is to enclose, and shi is the attributive of the past auxiliary ki, the grass having enclosed the hut.
Second line, “susono no susuki”: susono is the meadow spreading at the foot of a mountain.
Third line, “shimogarete”: shimogaru is for plants to wither in the frost.
Fourth line, “sabishisa masaru”: the loneliness growing deeper, as the grass has withered.
Fifth line, “shiba no io kana”: shiba no io is a rough hut of brushwood, and kana is exclamatory.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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