Iso ni oru nami no kewashiku miyuru kana oki ni nagoro ya takaku yukuran

磯に折る波の険しく見ゆるかな
沖になごろや高く行くらん

Roma-ji: Iso ni oru nami no kewashiku miyuru kana oki ni nagoro ya takaku yukuran
English Translation: How fierce they appear,
the waves that break upon
the rocky shore;
out at sea, are the swells
running high as they go?
Meaning: How fierce the waves look as they break upon the rocky shore; out at sea, are the swells running high?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1004

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
How fierce the waves look as they break on the rocky shore; are the swells running high out at sea? the poet asks, imagining the unseen high seas from the roughness of the waves on the shore. It uses the same word nagoro as 1002.

First line, “iso ni oru”: breaking on the rocky shore.
Second line, “nami no kewashiku”: the waves fierce.
Third line, “miyuru kana”: kana is exclamatory; the poem breaks here.
Fourth line, “oki ni nagoro ya”: nagoro are swells, the same word as the second line of 1002; ya is a question particle.
Fifth line, “takaku yukuran”: ran is conjecture about the present; are they running high?
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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