Tachikaeri kimi ya toikuru to matsu hodo ni mada kieyarazu nobe no awayuki

立ち帰り君や訪ひ来と待つほどに
まだ消えやらず野辺の淡雪

Roma-ji: Tachikaeri kimi ya toikuru to matsu hodo ni mada kieyarazu nobe no awayuki
English Translation: Returning once more,
might you come to visit me?
as I wait and wait,
not yet melted all away,
the light snow upon the fields.
Meaning: While I wait, wondering whether you might come back to visit, the light snow on the fields has not yet melted away.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1067

Headnote: "Reply"
This is the monk Jōnin's reply to Saigyō's poem. While I wait, wondering if you might come back to visit, the light snow on the fields still lingers unmelted, he answers.
To Saigyō's worry that the snow might have melted, Jōnin replies that the snow too lingers waiting for his return, laying his own waiting heart upon it. Jōnin appears to have been a monk living in Saga who was close to Saigyō.

First line, “tachikaeri”: coming back once more.
Second line, “kimi ya toikuru to”: ya questions, "wondering if you will come to visit."
Third line, “matsu hodo ni”: while waiting, the poet and the light snow both cast as those who wait.
Fourth line, “mada kieyarazu”: not yet melted away, the continuative form leading into the last line.
Fifth line, “nobe no awayuki”: ending on a noun, answering "the snow of Sagano" in the preceding poem, the lingering snow remains in the mind.
Author: Jōnin
Source: Sankashu
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