Nami chikaki iso no matsugane makura nite uraganashiki wa koyoi nomi ka wa

波近き磯の松が根枕にて
うら悲しきは今宵のみかは

Roma-ji: Nami chikaki iso no matsugane makura nite uraganashiki wa koyoi nomi ka wa
English Translation: Close to the waves' edge,
with the roots of shoreline pines
taken for a pillow—
is it only for tonight
my heart grieves, here by the bay?
Meaning: Pillowed on the roots of a pine by the rocky shore where the waves come close, is it only tonight that my heart feels so sad? No, it is so every night of this journey.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1053

Headnote: "Night after night lodging by the sea"
This poem is on the topic "Night after night lodging by the sea." Sleeping on the road with the roots of a shoreline pine for a pillow, the poet says that his sorrow is not for tonight alone but for every night spent lodging by the sea.
The "night after night" of the topic is expressed through the rhetorical question "is it only tonight?", portraying the daily solitude of one traveling along the coast. Ura in uraganashi echoes ura, the bay, binding the shore scene to the feeling of the heart.

First line, “nami chikaki”: where the waves come close.
Second line, “iso no matsugane”: the roots of a pine growing on the rocky shore, taken as a pillow.
Third line, “makura nite”: as a pillow, the dreariness of sleeping in the open.
Fourth line, “uraganashiki wa”: ura is a pivot word for the heart and for the bay, sorrow welling from within.
Fifth line, “koyoi nomi ka wa”: ka wa is rhetorical; is it only tonight? It is not.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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