Kasumedomo toshi no uchi wa to wakane ma ni haru o tsugu naru yamagawa no mizu

霞めども年のうちはとわかね間に
春を告ぐなる山川の水

Roma-ji: Kasumedomo toshi no uchi wa to wakane ma ni haru o tsugu naru yamagawa no mizu
English Translation: Though the haze has come,
while I cannot yet tell, thinking
"it's still the old year,"
it seems spring is being told
by the mountain stream's water.
Meaning: The haze has risen, yet while I still cannot tell the season, thinking it is the old year, the water of the mountain stream seems already to be announcing spring.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1059

Headnote: "While I was in retreat in the mountains, as soon as I heard that spring had come within the old year, haze spread everywhere and the sound of the mountain stream was unlike that of other days"
Saigyō composed this while in mountain retreat: as soon as he heard that spring had begun before the year was out, haze spread over everything, and the mountain stream sounded different from usual. The haze has come, yet while he still cannot tell whether it is spring, since it is within the old year, the stream is already announcing spring.
The point lies in the contrast: the human heart cannot yet take in a spring that has arrived only by the calendar, while nature is quick to tell of it. The signs of spring in the mountains are caught through haze seen and water heard.

First line, “kasumedomo”: domo is concessive, "though it is hazy."
Second line, “toshi no uchi wa to”: thinking it is still within the year, the confusion of spring arriving before the new year.
Third line, “wakane ma ni”: both the text and the reading line have wakane ma ni, taken in the sense of wakanu ma ni, while one cannot tell the season.
Fourth line, “haru o tsugu naru”: naru is the hearsay or auditory inference auxiliary, judging by the sound that it tells of spring.
Fifth line, “yamagawa no mizu”: ending on a noun, the mountain stream announcing spring lingers.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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