Sasa fukami kiri kosu kuki o asadachite nabikiwazurau ari no towatari

笹深み霧越す岫を朝立ちて
なびきわづらふ蟻の門渡り

Roma-ji: Sasa fukami kiri kosu kuki o asadachite nabikiwazurau ari no towatari
English Translation: The bamboo grass so deep,
setting out at dawn across
the peak where mists pass,
bending low, I struggle on—
the Ant's Crossing at the Gate.
Meaning: With the bamboo grass so deep, I set out at dawn over the peak where the mists pass, bending low and struggling across the Ant's Gate Crossing.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1116

Headnote: "At a place called Ari no Towatari, the Ant's Gate Crossing"
Composed at the Ant's Gate Crossing in Ōmine. Because the bamboo grass grows deep, he sets out at dawn over the peak where mist drifts across, bending low and struggling as he crosses.
The Ant's Gate Crossing was a dangerous narrow ridge of rock with sheer drops on either side, to be crossed with care like ants passing single file through a gate. True to its name, nabikiwazurau shows the ascetics edging forward bent low.

First line, “sasa fukami”: mi expresses cause, "since the bamboo grass is deep."
Second line, “kiri kosu kuki o”: kuki is a peak or a rocky cave, the peak the mist passes over.
Third line, “asadachite”: setting out early in the morning.
Fourth line, “nabikiwazurau”: struggling, bending low.
Fifth line, “ari no towatari”: the name of a perilous spot in Ōmine, ending on a noun to leave the image of a steep rocky ridge.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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