Yamazato wa shigureshi koro no sabishisa ni arashi no oto wa yaya masarikeri

山里は時雨れし頃の寂しさに
嵐の音はややまさりけり

Roma-ji: Yamazato wa shigureshi koro no sabishisa ni arashi no oto wa yaya masarikeri
English Translation: In the mountain village,
than the loneliness of days
when the cold rain fell,
the sound of the storm wind now
is lonelier by a little.
Meaning: In the mountain village, the sound of the storm wind now is a little lonelier even than the loneliness of the days when the winter rain was falling.
Commentary: Winter Poems 563

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Ten winter poems"
This is the seventh of the ten winter poems. In the mountain village it was lonely when the winter rain fell at the start of winter, but now that winter has deepened and the storm wind can be heard, the loneliness is greater still. The shift in sound from winter rain to storm wind marks the deepening of winter and of loneliness.
Just as 492 and 502 in this book told of the loneliness of the sound of the winter rain, and 491 at the head of the book told of the storm, this poem brings together the rain and the storm that sound through the book to show the progress of winter.

First line, “yamazato wa”: in the mountain village, the setting of the poet's dwelling.
Second line, “shigureshi koro no”: shiguru is for the winter rain to fall, and shi is the attributive of the past auxiliary ki, the days when it fell.
Third line, “sabishisa ni”: ni marks the standard of comparison, compared with that loneliness.
Fourth line, “arashi no oto wa”: the sound of the storm, a sound marking the depth of winter.
Fifth line, “yaya masarikeri”: yaya means a little or gradually, and masarikeri closes with exclamation, it is greater.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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