Ie no kaze fukitsutau tomo Waka no ura ni kai aru koto no ha nite koso shire

家の風吹き伝ふとも和歌の浦に
かひある言の葉にてこそ知れ

Roma-ji: Ie no kaze fukitsutau tomo Waka no ura ni kai aru koto no ha nite koso shire
English Translation: Though the family wind
may blow on down to us,
by the Bay of Waka,
only through words of worth,
like its shells, will it be known.
Meaning: Even if the family style is blown down to us, it is only by words worth something, like shells on the Bay of Waka, that it can be known.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 934

Headnote: "Reply"
This is Fujiwara no Kinyoshi's reply. Even if the family style is blown down to us, it is only by poems that have worth, like the shells on the Bay of Waka, that it can be known, he writes. Taking up 'family wind' and 'kai arite' from the preceding poem, he modestly says that lineage alone does not decide the worth of poems.

First line, “ie no kaze”: the same words as the first line of the preceding poem.
Second line, “fukitsutau tomo”: tomo is concessive, even if it is blown down.
Third line, “Waka no ura ni”: the Bay of Waka in Kii, a famed poetic place suggesting waka itself; a line of six syllables.
Fourth line, “kai aru koto no”: kai is a pivot word joining shells on the bay and worth, taking up 'kai arite.'
Fifth line, “ha nite koso shire”: koso is answered by the perfective shire; only by the words is it known; koto no ha runs across the fourth and fifth lines.
Author: Fujiwara no Kinyoshi
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Ie no kaze fukitsutaekeru kai arite chiru koto no ha no mezurashiki kana
Next Poem: Kogarashi ni ko no ha no otsuru yamazato wa namida koso sae moroku narikere