Ikadashi no nami no shizumu to mietsuru wa yuki o tsumitsutsu kudaru narikeri

筏士の波の沈むと見えつるは
雪を積みつつ下るなりけり

Roma-ji: Ikadashi no nami no shizumu to mietsuru wa yuki o tsumitsutsu kudaru narikeri
English Translation: The raftsman, it seemed,
was sinking into the waves—
so it looked to me;
but gathering snow upon him,
he was drifting down the stream.
Meaning: The raftsman seemed to be sinking into the waves, but he was only going downstream with snow piling up on him.
Commentary: One Hundred Poems 1487

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Ten Poems on Snow"
The fifth of the ten poems on snow. The raftsman who seemed to be sinking into the waves was in fact going downstream as snow piled up and weighed down the raft.
It is built like a riddle, revealing afterward the truth of what looked like sinking. Like the preceding poem it sings of snow on a river, but against the boats moored still there, this one shows a raft moving down the current.

First line, “ikadashi no”: of the raftsman who steers timber down the river.
Second line, “nami no shizumu to”: as sinking into the waves.
Third line, “mietsuru wa”: tsuru marks completion, "what seemed so."
Fourth line, “yuki o tsumitsutsu”: with snow piling up.
Fifth line, “kudaru narikeri”: nari keri expresses sudden realization, "he was going downstream."
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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