Kōri waru ikada no sao no tayukereba mochi ya kosamashi Hotsu no yamagoe

氷割る筏の棹のたゆければ
持ちや越さまし保津の山越え

Roma-ji: Kōri waru ikada no sao no tayukereba mochi ya kosamashi Hotsu no yamagoe
English Translation: Breaking through the ice,
the pole that drives the raft along
has worn my arms out:
shall I carry it instead
over the hills of Hotsu?
Meaning: Pushing the raft along with my pole, breaking the ice, my arms have grown so weary; shall I simply carry it over the mountain pass at Hotsu?
Commentary: Winter Poems 556

Headnote: "On the topic 'ice shutting in the rafts'"
The topic is ice shutting in the rafts. Driving a raft forward while breaking the ice on the river, the raftsman's arms grow weary on the pole, and he wonders whether he should simply carry the raft over the hills of Hotsu. The poem catches, with a touch of humor, the toil of floating rafts down a river closed by ice.
Following the two poems on mountain water and a waterfall stopped by ice, this one tells of the way of the rafts shut by ice, so three poems on the topic of ice follow in a row here.

First line, “kōri waru”: breaking the ice, pushing on while breaking the ice on the river.
Second line, “ikada no sao no”: ikada is a raft of lashed timber floated down a river, and sao the long pole that drives it.
Third line, “tayukereba”: tayushi is to be weary and drained of strength, and ba marks an established condition.
Fourth line, “mochi ya kosamashi”: ya is a question particle and mashi an auxiliary of hesitant intention, shall I carry it over; the poem breaks after the fourth line.
Fifth line, “Hotsu no yamagoe”: Hotsu is a place in Tanba known for rafting on the Hozu River; the poem ends on a noun, in inversion with the fourth line.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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