Awajishima isowa no chidori koe shigemi seto no shiokaze saewataru yo wa

淡路島磯回の千鳥声しげみ
瀬戸の潮風冴え渡る夜は

Roma-ji: Awajishima isowa no chidori koe shigemi seto no shiokaze saewataru yo wa
English Translation: Off Awaji Isle
the plovers round the rocky shore,
how thick their voices!
when the salt wind through the strait
blows chill all through the night.
Meaning: How thick the cries of the plovers along the rocky shores of Awaji Island, on nights when the salt wind through the strait blows freezing cold.
Commentary: Winter Poems 548

Headnote: "Plovers"
The poem is on the topic of plovers, the first of five on the same topic. On nights when the salt wind sweeping the strait is bitterly cold, the cries of plovers circling the rocky shores of Awaji Island are heard again and again. The cold of the winter shore is caught through the voices of the plovers.
The pairing of Awaji Island and plovers is famous from Minamoto no Kanemasa's poem in the Kin'yō Wakashū, in which the barrier keeper of Suma wakes night after night to the cries of plovers flying to and from Awaji Island, and this poem follows that tradition. It shares its first line, Awajishima, with the next poem.

First line, “Awajishima”: Awajishima is an island in the eastern Inland Sea, a name in poetry sung with plovers; the next poem opens with the same line.
Second line, “isowa no chidori”: isowa is the winding edge of a rocky shore.
Third line, “koe shigemi”: shigemi is the stem of shigeshi with mi, since their voices are so frequent; the poem breaks after the third line.
Fourth line, “seto no shiokaze”: seto is a narrow strait, here the sea between Awaji and the main island.
Fifth line, “saewataru yo wa”: saewataru is to grow cold all through; this stands in inversion to the first three lines.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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