Hana mo kare momiji mo chiranu yamazato wa sabishisa o mata tou hito mogana

花も枯れ紅葉も散らぬ山里は
寂しさをまた訪ふ人もがな

Roma-ji: Hana mo kare momiji mo chiranu yamazato wa sabishisa o mata tou hito mogana
English Translation: Flowers withered too,
and no red leaves left to fall,
the mountain village:
its loneliness I would have
someone come to visit once again.
Meaning: In this mountain village where the flowers have withered and no autumn leaves remain to fall, I wish someone would come again, this time to call on its loneliness.
Commentary: Winter Poems 557

Headnote: "Ten winter poems"
This is the first of a sequence of ten winter poems. In the winter mountain village the flowers have withered and no leaves are left to fall, so nothing remains to draw visitors. Just as people came in the seasons of flowers and autumn leaves, the poet wishes that someone would now come to visit the loneliness itself.
Poem 521 in this book also ends with tou hito mogana, wishing for someone to come and ask whether he is watching the winter moon. The heart that waits for a visitor is sung again and again in this book.

First line, “hana mo kare”: the flowers withered, the blossoms of spring and autumn already gone.
Second line, “momiji mo chiranu”: the autumn leaves no longer falling, a winter with not even leaves left to fall.
Third line, “yamazato wa”: the mountain village, in winter.
Fourth line, “sabishisa o mata”: mata means again, as in the seasons of flowers and leaves; the device is to wish for a visit to the loneliness itself.
Fifth line, “tou hito mogana”: tou is to visit or call on, and mogana expresses a wish; it is the same last line as 521.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Kōri waru ikada no sao no tayukereba mochi ya kosamashi Hotsu no yamagoe
Next Poem: Hitori sumu katayamakage no tomo nare ya arashi ni haruru fuyu no yamazato