Shimo ni aite iro aratamuru ashi no ho no sabishiku miyuru Naniwae no ura

霜にあひて色改むる葦の穂の
寂しく見ゆる難波江の浦

Roma-ji: Shimo ni aite iro aratamuru ashi no ho no sabishiku miyuru Naniwae no ura
English Translation: Meeting with the frost,
changing now their former hue,
the plumes of the reeds
look so lonely as they stand
along the bay of Naniwa.
Meaning: Touched by the frost, the plumes of the reeds have changed their color, and the bay of Naniwa looks so lonely.
Commentary: Winter Poems 514

Headnote: "Cold grasses by the water"
The topic is cold grasses by the water. The poem describes the bay of Naniwa, where the plumes of the reeds, touched by frost, have changed color and look lonely in their withered shade. Naniwa Bay, famous for its reeds, is caught as it becomes a lonely shore of withered reeds in winter.
Poem 510 in this book likewise tells of frost on the reeds at the water's edge of Naniwa Bay, pairing the same reeds and frost of Naniwa. This poem also shares its fourth line, sabishiku miyuru, with the next poem.

First line, “shimo ni aite”: a hypermetric line of six syllables, meeting with the frost.
Second line, “iro aratamuru”: changing color, the reed plumes turning to a withered hue in the frost.
Third line, “ashi no ho no”: the plumes of the reeds, answering the cold grasses of the topic.
Fourth line, “sabishiku miyuru”: looking lonely, the same line as the fourth line of the next poem.
Fifth line, “Naniwae no ura”: the poem ends on a noun, the bay of Naniwa famous for its reeds, answering the waterside of the topic.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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