Shinobugusa shinobi shinobi ni oku tsuyu o hito koso towane yado wa furiniki

しのぶ草忍び忍びに置く露を
人こそ問はね宿は古りにき

Roma-ji: Shinobugusa shinobi shinobi ni oku tsuyu o hito koso towane yado wa furiniki
English Translation: On the hare's-foot fern
the dew, in secret, secret,
comes to settle;
though no one comes to see,
the house has grown old.
Meaning: Like the dew settling secretly on the hare's-foot fern, I weep in secret; you never come to call, and the house has grown old.
Commentary: Love Poems 550

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Love at the old home"
Like dew settling unseen on the fern of the eaves, the poet weeps in secret, yet the beloved never visits and the house has grown old. The repeated sound shinobu gives the poem its music.
Kamo no Mabuchi marked this poem with a circle.

Line 1 names the hare's-foot fern that grows on old eaves, a symbol of a neglected house that echoes hidden love.
Line 2 means "in secret, in secret," echoing shinobu in line 1.
Line 3 means "the dew that settles," overlaid with secret tears; it takes up the dew of the preceding poem.
Line 4: koso is concluded by the evaluative towane, turning adversative.
Line 5 means "the house has grown old," niki marking completion and past.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
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