Tashiro miyuru ike no tsutsumi no kasa soete tatōru mizu ya haru no yo no tame

田代見ゆる池の堤のかさ添へて
湛ふる水や春の夜のため

Roma-ji: Tashiro miyuru ike no tsutsumi no kasa soete tatōru mizu ya haru no yo no tame
English Translation: Raising higher still
the bank of the pond from which
the rice fields are seen,
is the water brimming there
for the sake of the spring night?
Meaning: The water brimming in the pond, its bank raised higher where the rice fields can be seen—is it there for the sake of the spring night?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1436

Headnote: none
The water brimming in the pond, its bank raised higher where the fields can be seen, is it there for the spring night's moon? the poet wonders.
An elegant comparison seeing irrigation water meant for the fields as kept for the charm of a spring night. The last line wittily recasts practical farming through the eyes of refined taste.

First line, “tashiro miyuru”: tashiro are rice fields; where the fields are seen; the line has an extra syllable.
Second line, “ike no tsutsumi no”: of the pond's bank.
Third line, “kasa soete”: kasa is height or volume, "raising it."
Fourth line, “tatōru mizu ya”: ya questions, "the water brimming."
Fifth line, “haru no yo no tame”: for the spring night? ending on a noun.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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