Kaze saete yosureba yagate kōritsutsu kaeru nami naki Shiga no Karasaki

風冴えて寄すればやがて凍りつつ
返る波なき志賀の唐崎

Roma-ji: Kaze saete yosureba yagate kōritsutsu kaeru nami naki Shiga no Karasaki
English Translation: The wind blowing chill,
as soon as they wash ashore
they freeze, one by one,
and no waves go back again
at Karasaki in Shiga.
Meaning: In the freezing wind, the waves freeze as soon as they wash ashore, and at Karasaki in Shiga no wave goes back again.
Commentary: Winter Poems 564

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Ten winter poems"
This is the eighth of the ten winter poems. A freezing wind blows, and the lake's waves freeze as soon as they reach the shore, so that at Karasaki in Shiga no wave returns as waves should. The poem catches the familiar motion of the water's edge, waves coming in and drawing back, halted by ice.
Like 554 and 555 in this book, which told of mountain water and a waterfall stopped by ice, this poem tells of the lake's waves stopped by ice, continuing the theme of ice halting the movement of water.

First line, “kaze saete”: sayu is to be chill, the wind blowing cold.
Second line, “yosureba yagate”: yosu is for waves to wash in, ba marks an established condition, and yagate means at once.
Third line, “kōritsutsu”: tsutsu shows repetition, freezing each time they come in.
Fourth line, “kaeru nami naki”: with no waves going back, waves that should come and go.
Fifth line, “Shiga no Karasaki”: Shiga no Karasaki is a spot on the shore of Lake Biwa at Shiga in Ōmi, a well-known name in poetry; the poem ends on a noun.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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