Shikimi oku aka no oshiki no fuchi naku wa nani ni arare no tama to chiramashi

樒置く閼伽の折敷の縁なくは
何に霰の玉と散らまし

Roma-ji: Shikimi oku aka no oshiki no fuchi naku wa nani ni arare no tama to chiramashi
English Translation: Were there not the rim
on the tray for holy water
where the shikimi lies,
on what then would the hailstones
scatter as so many jewels?
Meaning: Had the tray for holy water bearing the shikimi had no rim, on what would the hailstones have scattered as jewels?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1367

Headnote: "Just as I was offering flowers, hail scattered onto the offering tray"
Just as Saigyō was offering flowers to the Buddha, hail scattered onto the tray bearing shikimi branches. Had the tray had no rim, on what would the hail have scattered as jewels? he asks.
Seeing the hail caught within the tray's rim as jewels, he takes it as a beauty fitting an offering before the Buddha. Heaven's hail joins the shikimi and holy water as jewels in a pure scene of Buddhist devotion.

First line, “shikimi oku”: where the shikimi for the altar is laid.
Second line, “aka no oshiki no”: aka is water offered to the Buddha; oshiki is a tray for offerings.
Third line, “fuchi naku wa”: naku wa is a negative supposition, "if it had no rim."
Fourth line, “nani ni arare no”: on what, the hail.
Fifth line, “tama to chiramashi”: mashi is counterfactual, "would it have scattered as jewels?"
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Tani no io ni tama no sudare o kakemashi ya sugaru taruhi no noki o tojizu wa
Next Poem: Iwa ni seku akai no mizu no warinaki ni kokoro sume to mo yadoru tsuki kana