Tama makishi kakine no makuzu shimogarete sabishiku miyuru fuyu no yamazato

玉巻きし垣根の真葛霜枯れて
寂しく見ゆる冬の山里

Roma-ji: Tama makishi kakine no makuzu shimogarete sabishiku miyuru fuyu no yamazato
English Translation: Once curled like jewels,
the arrowroot along the fence
withered in the frost:
how lonely it looks to me,
this mountain village in winter.
Meaning: The arrowroot along the fence, its leaves once curled like jewels, has withered in the frost, and the mountain village in winter looks so lonely.
Commentary: Winter Poems 515

Headnote: "Winter at a mountain dwelling"
The topic is winter at a mountain dwelling. The arrowroot vine that grew thick on the fence from summer into autumn, its leaves curled like jewels, has withered in the frost, and the winter scene of the mountain village looks lonely. The poem catches the village looking lonelier still once the vines that covered the dwelling have died.
It shares the fourth line, sabishiku miyuru, with the preceding poem, and the last line, fuyu no yamazato, with 513. Poem 505 in this book also tells of loneliness growing as the pampas grass around a hut withers in the frost, and has the same composition.

First line, “tama makishi”: tama maku is for leaves to curl round like jewels, and shi is the attributive of the past auxiliary ki.
Second line, “kakine no makuzu”: makuzu is an honorific name for the arrowroot vine, here grown thick over the fence.
Third line, “shimogarete”: withered in the frost.
Fourth line, “sabishiku miyuru”: looking lonely, the same line as the fourth line of the preceding poem.
Fifth line, “fuyu no yamazato”: the poem ends on a noun with the same last line as 513, answering the topic.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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