Aratanaru kumano mōde no shirushi o ba kōri no kori ni ubeki narikeri

新たなる熊野詣でのしるしをば
氷の垢離に得べきなりけり

Roma-ji: Aratanaru kumano mōde no shirushi o ba kōri no kori ni ubeki narikeri
English Translation: The wondrous blessings
of the pilgrimage, I find,
to far Kumano,
are to be gained, after all,
in cleansing with icy water.
Meaning: The wondrous blessings of the Kumano pilgrimage, I see now, are to be won through purification in ice-cold water.
Commentary: One Hundred Poems 1530

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Ten Poems on the Gods: Two Poems on Kumano"
The second of the two poems on Kumano. The miraculous blessings of the Kumano pilgrimage are to be won through purification in icy water.
On the Kumano pilgrimage, pilgrims bathed in water along the way to purify themselves. The poem sings of the rigor of faith, holding that divine protection comes only through the harsh rite of bathing in ice-cold water. Following the arduous steps of the preceding poem, it sings of the severity of purification, the two together portraying the austerities of the Kumano pilgrimage.

First line, “aratanaru”: of wondrous efficacy.
Second line, “kumano mōde no”: of the pilgrimage to the three shrines of Kumano.
Third line, “shirushi o ba”: shirushi is divine blessing; o ba stresses the object.
Fourth line, “kōri no kori ni”: kori is purification by bathing, "through bathing in water like ice."
Fifth line, “ubeki narikeri”: nari keri marks realization, "it is to be gained, I see."
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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