classic waka stream

番はねど映れば影を友として
鴛鴦すみけりな山川の水
Roma-ji

Tsugawanedo utsureba kage o tomo to shite oshi sumikeri na yamakawa no mizu

English Translation
Though it has no mate,
reflected, it takes its own
image as a friend,
the mandarin duck that dwells
on the clear mountain stream.
Meaning
Though it has no mate, its own reflection in the water serves as a companion, and so the mandarin duck lives on the clear mountain stream.
Commentary
Miscellaneous Poems 958

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
The mandarin duck was held to be a bird always seen in loving pairs. Though it has no mate, it lives on the clear mountain stream with its own reflection for a friend, the poet says, laying his own solitary mountain life over the lone duck.

First line, “tsugawanedo”: though it is not paired.
Second line, “utsureba kage o”: when reflected, its own image.
Third line, “tomo to shite”: as a friend.
Fourth line, “oshi sumikeri na”: sumi is a pivot word joining the duck's dwelling and the water's clarity; na is exclamatory, and the poem breaks here.
Fifth line, “yamakawa no mizu”: ending on a noun, the clear water of the mountain stream.
Author
Saigyō
Source
Sankashu
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