Aware shiru namida no tsuyu zo koborekeru kusa no iori o musubu chigiri wa

あはれ知る涙の露ぞこぼれける
草の庵を結ぶ契りは

Roma-ji: Aware shiru namida no tsuyu zo koborekeru kusa no iori o musubu chigiri wa
English Translation: Tears that know the depth
of feeling spilled like the dew,
at the bond that's led
me here to tie together
this hut of grass I dwell in.
Meaning: Tears of deep feeling have spilled like dew, at the karmic bond that led me to build this grass hut.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 911

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Five poems expressing my thoughts"
This is the fourth of the five. When I think of the karmic bond that led me to build a grass hut and live in it, tears of deep feeling spill like dew, the poet says. Taking up the mountain dwelling of the preceding poem, he tells of his deep emotion at having become a recluse.

First line, “aware shiru”: feeling the depth of things.
Second line, “namida no tsuyu zo”: tears likened to dew; zo is answered by keru in the third line.
Third line, “koborekeru”: they spilled; the poem breaks here.
Fourth line, “kusa no iori o”: a humble hut of grass, related to the dew.
Fifth line, “musubu chigiri wa”: musubu is to build a hut, and chigiri the karmic bond; inverted to follow the third line.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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