Shimo kazuku kareno no kusa no sabishiki ni izuku wa hito no kokoro tomuran

霜かづく枯れ野の草の寂しきに
いづくは人の心とむらん

Roma-ji: Shimo kazuku kareno no kusa no sabishiki ni izuku wa hito no kokoro tomuran
English Translation: Wearing caps of frost,
the grasses of the withered moor
stand so desolate:
where then could it be that one
might ever let the heart linger?
Meaning: The grasses of the withered moor, capped with frost, are so desolate; where, I wonder, could anyone let the heart linger here?
Commentary: Winter Poems 508

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Grasses on a withered moor"
This is the second poem on the topic of grasses on a withered moor. The frost-covered grasses of the withered moor are nothing but desolate, and there seems to be nowhere for the heart to rest. By taking the form of a question, the poem stresses the loneliness of a winter-withered field with nothing to draw the heart.
Where the preceding poem laid the memory of the autumn clover over the winter field, this poem turns to the desolation of the withered winter moor itself.

First line, “shimo kazuku”: shimo kazuku is to wear frost on the head.
Second line, “kareno no kusa no”: the grasses of the withered moor, answering the topic.
Third line, “sabishiki ni”: ni is concessive, though they are so desolate.
Fourth line, “izuku wa hito no”: izuku means where, singled out by wa.
Fifth line, “kokoro tomuran”: ran is present conjecture, wondering where one might let the heart linger.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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