Waga yado ni niwa yori hoka no michi mogana toikon hito no ato tsukede min

我が宿に庭よりほかの道もがな
訪ひ来ん人の跡付けで見ん

Roma-ji: Waga yado ni niwa yori hoka no michi mogana toikon hito no ato tsukede min
English Translation: To my dwelling here
another path besides the garden
would that there might be!
so that, without the footprints
of my guest, I might view the snow.
Meaning: If only there were some other way to my house than through the garden, so that I could gaze on the snow without the footprints of whoever comes to call.
Commentary: Winter Poems 532

Headnote: "Waiting for someone on a snowy morning"
The topic is waiting for someone on a snowy morning. The poet longs for a visitor, yet it would be a pity to have footprints marring the snow in the garden. So he wishes there were another way in besides the garden, so that he could go on gazing at the snow without the visitor's footprints. The poem catches the heart caught between waiting for someone and treasuring the beauty of the snow.
Like Izumi Shikibu's poem in the Shika Wakashū, which wonders what to do if the awaited one should come now, since it would be a pity to have the garden snow trodden, this poem tells of waiting for a visit while grudging the trampling of the snow. The headnote of the next poem also cites Izumi Shikibu's poem.

First line, “waga yado ni”: at my dwelling.
Second line, “niwa yori hoka no”: other than the way through the garden.
Third line, “michi mogana”: mogana expresses a wish, if only there were a path; the poem breaks after the third line.
Fourth line, “toikon hito no”: toiku is to come to visit, and n is a softening auxiliary.
Fifth line, “ato tsukede min”: de is a negative conjunctive, without leaving footprints; n expresses intention, closing on the wish to keep gazing at the snow as it is.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Yuki fukaku uzumitekeri na kimi ku ya to momiji no nishiki shikishi yamaji o
Next Poem: Hito koba to omoite yuki o miru hodo ni shika ato tsukuru koto mo arikeri