Iroiro ni somuru shigure ni momijiba wa arasoikanete chirihatenikeri - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

色々に染むる時雨に紅葉葉は
争ひかねて散りはてにけり

Roma-ji: Iroiro ni somuru shigure ni momijiba wa arasoikanete chirihatenikeri
English Translation: In so many hues
the autumn showers dye them, and
the maple leaves,
unable to hold out against them,
have scattered, every last one.
Meaning: Against the showers that dye them in so many colors, the maple leaves could not hold out, and now they have scattered, every last one.
Commentary: Book Four Winter Poems 143

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
Winter showers were thought to dye the leaves, yet as they keep falling, the leaves are not merely colored but, unable to resist, are stripped away. The heart of the poem is the idea that the same showers both dye and scatter the leaves.
Where the preceding poem looked at leaves already fallen, this one turns to the showers that make them fall, opening the way to the shower poems that follow.

First line, “iroiro ni”: “in many colors,” the variety of autumn hues.
Second line, “somuru shigure ni”: based on the poetic convention that showers tint the leaves; “ni” marks the rival they contend against.
Third line, “momijiba wa”: the personified leaves become the subject, continuing from the preceding poem.
Fourth line, “arasoikanete”: “kanu” means “unable to,” so the leaves cannot hold their own against the rain.
Fifth line, “chirihatenikeri”: “have scattered completely,” with completion and exclamation. The same verb appears in 156, “chirihatete,” marking the end of the autumn leaves.
Source: Shika Wakashu
Prev Poem: Kozue nite akazarishikaba momijiba no chirishiku niwa o harawade zo miru
Next Poem: Yama fukami ochite tsumoreru momijiba no kawakeru ue ni shigure furu nari