Sadae sumu seto no iwatsubo motome idete isogishi ama no keshiki naru kana

栄螺住む瀬戸の岩壺求め出でて
急ぎし海人のけしきなるかな

Roma-ji: Sadae sumu seto no iwatsubo motome idete isogishi ama no keshiki naru kana
English Translation: Searching out the hollows
in the rocks of the strait
where the turban shells dwell,
how hurriedly they dive—
the look of the fisher folk.
Meaning: How quickly the divers go down, having sought out the rock hollows in the strait where the turban shells live!
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1376

Headnote: "Seeing fishermen at the Ushimado strait diving in and out, catching things called sadae and putting them into their boats again and again"
At the strait of Ushimado in Bizen, fishermen dove and surfaced, catching turban shells and tossing them into their boats. How briskly they dive, the poet says, having found the rock hollows in the strait where the turban shells live.
It vividly depicts the brisk movements of divers gathering shellfish; isogishi shows them diving the moment they spot their prey. Apart from the idea of sin in the preceding poems, it captures the fishermen's work realistically.

First line, “sadae sumu”: where turban shells live; the text writes sadae.
Second line, “seto no iwatsubo”: the rock hollows in the strait.
Third line, “motome idete”: having sought them out; the line has an extra syllable.
Fourth line, “isogishi ama no”: of the fishers who hurried.
Fifth line, “keshiki naru kana”: kana is exclamatory.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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