Ima zo shiru futami no ura no hamaguri o kaiawase tote ōu narikeri

今ぞ知る二見の浦の蛤を
貝合はせとて覆ふなりけり

Roma-ji: Ima zo shiru futami no ura no hamaguri o kaiawase tote ōu narikeri
English Translation: Now at last I know:
the clams of Futami Bay
that they gather here,
for the shell-matching game, they say,
are to be closed and paired.
Meaning: Now I understand: the clams of Futami Bay are being gathered to be covered and matched for the shell-matching game.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1386

Headnote: "At the bay of Futami in Ise, girls of some standing had gathered and, seemingly on purpose, were collecting clams. When I said, 'If they were lowly fisher folk it would be one thing, but this is regrettable,' they answered that people from the capital had asked for them for a shell-matching game, so they were choosing them carefully"
At Futami Bay in Ise, girls of decent appearance were busily gathering clams. When Saigyō remarked that it was unseemly, they said people from the capital had asked for them for a shell-matching game. Now I know, he says: the clams of Futami are gathered to be closed and paired in the game.
In the shell-matching game, pictures were painted inside clamshells and matching halves fitted together, hence "covering." Girls on a distant Ise shore gathering shells for an elegant game of the capital depict a link between capital and province. It also echoes the series of shell-contest poems beginning at 1189 in this book.

First line, “ima zo shiru”: zo is answered by the attributive shiru, "now I know," breaking after the first line.
Second line, “futami no ura no”: of Futami Bay in Ise.
Third line, “hamaguri o”: the clams.
Fourth line, “kaiawase tote”: for the shell-matching game.
Fifth line, “ōu narikeri”: ōu refers to fitting shells together in the game; keri marks realization.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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