Kurokami wa suguru to mieshi shiranami o kazukihatetaru mi ni wa shire ama

黒髪は過ぐると見えし白波を
潜き果てたる身には知れ海人

Roma-ji: Kurokami wa suguru to mieshi shiranami o kazukihatetaru mi ni wa shire ama
English Translation: The white of the waves,
where your black hair seems to have
long since passed away—
you who've dived through all of them,
know it in yourself, old fisher.
Meaning: Your black hair seems long gone, turned to the white of the waves; you who have dived through them all your life, old fisherman, know it in yourself.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1398

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Going from Shingū toward Ise, at Mikishima I called over a fisherman managing the boats who had not a single black hair"
The white waves into which your black hair seems to have passed—you who have dived through them all your life, know it in yourself, old fisherman, the poet says.
Laying the old man's white hair over the white waves, it says that after a lifetime of diving his hair has grown white as the waves, expressing his long years. Following the preceding poem's question, it bids him recognize his age.

First line, “kurokami wa”: black hair.
Second line, “suguru to mieshi”: that seemed to have passed.
Third line, “shiranami o”: the white waves, overlaid with white hair.
Fourth line, “kazukihatetaru”: having dived through them all.
Fifth line, “mi ni wa shire ama”: know it in yourself, fisherman, an imperative address; the line has an extra syllable.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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