Toe na kimi yūgure ni naru niwa no yuki o ato naki yori wa aware naramashi

訪へな君夕暮れになる庭の雪を
跡なきよりはあはれならまし

Roma-ji: Toe na kimi yūgure ni naru niwa no yuki o ato naki yori wa aware naramashi
English Translation: Come and visit, friend!
the snow in my garden as
evening falls on it,
rather than lie without a trace
would be all the more moving.
Meaning: Do come to visit me. The snow in my garden, as evening falls, would be far more moving bearing your footprints than lying without a trace.
Commentary: Winter Poems 543

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When composing poems on snow"
This is the sixth of six poems on snow. The poet calls on his friend to visit, since the snow in the garden as evening falls would surely be more moving with the friend's footprints in it than left untouched by any trace.
Where 532 and 533 in this book grudged the footprints of visitors marring the garden snow, this poem finds the snow with footprints more moving and asks for a visit, so the heart that grudges tracks in the snow and the heart that wants them answer each other in reverse.

First line, “toe na kimi”: toe is the imperative of tou, to visit, and na is exclamatory, do come, my friend; the poem breaks after the first line.
Second line, “yūgure ni naru”: as it turns to evening.
Third line, “niwa no yuki o”: a hypermetric line of six syllables, the snow lying in the garden at evening.
Fourth line, “ato naki yori wa”: rather than without footprints, marking the comparison.
Fifth line, “aware naramashi”: mashi is the auxiliary of the counterfactual, if you came, it would surely be more moving.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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