Nagare mishi kishi no kodachi mo asehatete matsu nomi koso wa mukashi naru rame

流れ見し岸の木立もあせ果てて
松のみこそは昔なるらめ

Roma-ji: Nagare mishi kishi no kodachi mo asehatete matsu nomi koso wa mukashi naru rame
English Translation: The trees along the bank
where once I watched the waters flow
have all fallen away—
only the pines, I suppose,
remain as they were of old.
Meaning: The trees along the bank where I once watched the falls have all faded away; only the pines, I suppose, remain as they were long ago.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1425

Headnote: "Seeing that the trees around the falls had changed beyond recognition and only pines stood in a row"
Around the falls at Daikakuji the trees had changed completely, and only pines stood in a row. The trees on the bank where he once watched the waters have all declined, and only the pines remain as of old, the poet says.
The decline of the Waterfall Pavilion of Daikakuji was also sung in 1048 of this book. Amid changing trees only the evergreen pines keep the look of the past, a contrast expressing the impermanence of time.

First line, “nagare mishi”: where I once saw the falls flow.
Second line, “kishi no kodachi mo”: the trees on the bank too.
Third line, “asehatete”: utterly declined.
Fourth line, “matsu nomi koso wa”: koso is answered by the realis rame.
Fifth line, “mukashi naru rame”: rame, the realis of ramu, "they must be as of old."
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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