Shikiwatasu tsuki no kōri o utagaite hibi no te mawaru aji no muradori

敷き渡す月の氷を疑ひて
ひびの手まはる味の群鳥

Roma-ji: Shikiwatasu tsuki no kōri o utagaite hibi no te mawaru aji no muradori
English Translation: Doubting the moon's ice
that is spread out far and wide
across the waters,
round the stakes of the fish weirs
fly the flocks of teal.
Meaning: Mistrusting the ice of moonlight spread across the water, the flocks of teal fly round the stakes of the fish weirs.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1404

Headnote: "Going down to Sanuki Province, I arrived at a port called Mino no Tsu; the moon was bright, and I could see far beyond the reach of the weir stakes, and water birds were flying along the weir stakes"
Arriving at the port of Mino in Sanuki, Saigyō saw under a bright moon far beyond the fish-weir stakes, and water birds flying along them. Doubting the moonlit sea spread like ice, the flocks of teal circle the weir stakes, he says.
Seeing the moonlit sea as ice links with 1356 in this book. Here even the birds mistake the moonlit sea for ice, a witty poem depicting the comparison from the birds' side.

First line, “shikiwatasu”: spread all across.
Second line, “tsuki no kōri o”: the moonlit sea that looks like ice.
Third line, “utagaite”: doubting whether it is ice.
Fourth line, “hibi no te mawaru”: hibi are stakes set in the sea; circling around them.
Fifth line, “aji no muradori”: aji are teal, a water bird; a flock of them, ending on a noun.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Tachinoboru tsuki no atari ni kumo kiete hikari kasanuru nanakoshi no mine
Next Poem: Ikade ware kokoro no kumo ni chiri suede miru kai arite tsuki o nagamen