Nawashiro ni sekikudasareshi amanogawa todomuru mo kami no kokoro naru beshi

苗代に堰き下されし天の川
止むるも神の心なるべし

Roma-ji: Nawashiro ni sekikudasareshi amanogawa todomuru mo kami no kokoro naru beshi
English Translation: To the seedbeds once
let flow down from the heavens,
the River of Heaven:
to hold it back must also
lie within the god's own heart.
Meaning: Once the River of Heaven was let down to flow into the seedbeds; to hold that rain back now must likewise lie within the god's own heart.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 749

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Having left Ogura, she lived on a mountain called Amano at the foot of Kōya; the Lady Sochi of the same retired empress, saying she could not fail to call at her dwelling outside the capital, made her way there through the hills, which was rare indeed; on her way back she went to Kokawa, and meeting me as I came down from the mountain, asked me to be her guide, so I accompanied her to Kokawa; such a chance would never come again, said those with her, let us see Fukiage, and so they went on to Fukiage; from the road a heavy rain and wind arose, and all pleasure was gone; though they reached Fukiage, there was nothing to see, and setting down the palanquin at the shrine, it was nothing like what they had hoped; thinking of how Nōin was said to have composed 'let it flow down as water for the seedbeds,' I wrote this on the shrine / When I had written it, the wind soon turned to the west, the clouds cleared at once, and the sun shone gently; people said that even in these latter days, where the heart is sincere, the response is wondrous, and with faith aroused they viewed Fukiage and the Bay of Waka as they wished and went home"
Like the preceding poem, this was written on the shrine at Fukiage. The River of Heaven, the rain let flow down into the seedbeds by Nōin's rain-prayer, must likewise be held back as the god wills, the poet says. A god who could bring rain must surely be able to stop it, and so he prays for clear skies.

First line, “nawashiro ni”: into the seedbeds, drawing on 'nawashiromizu' in Nōin's poem.
Second line, “sekikudasareshi”: let down by breaking the weir, taking up 'sekikudase' in Nōin's poem.
Third line, “amanogawa”: the River of Heaven, taken from the opening of Nōin's poem as a figure for falling rain.
Fourth line, “todomuru mo kami no”: holding it back too is the god's, sending rain and stopping it set side by side.
Fifth line, “kokoro naru beshi”: beshi is conjectural, it must be the god's will.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Amakudaru na o fukiage no kami naraba kumo hare nokite hikari arawase
Next Poem: Kono yo nite kataraiokan hototogisu shide no yamaji no shirube to mo nare