Yado wa arete furuki miyama no matsu ni nomi tou beki mono to kaze no fukuramu

宿は荒れて古きみ山の松にのみ
問ふべきものと風の吹くらむ

Roma-ji: Yado wa arete furuki miyama no matsu ni nomi tou beki mono to kaze no fukuramu
English Translation: The house in ruins,
only the pines of the ancient
mountain depths, it seems,
are what one ought to visit,
so the wind keeps blowing there.
Meaning: The house has fallen into ruin; does the wind blow, thinking only the pines of the ancient mountain are worth visiting?
Commentary: Love Poems 551

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Love at the old home"
The beloved's house lies in ruins and no one visits; the poet wonders whether the wind blows thinking only the pines of the old mountain worth calling on. It expresses the loneliness of being visited only by the wind.

Line 1 means "the house in ruins," with an extra syllable.
Line 2 means "of the ancient deep mountains."
Line 3 means "only the pines," matsu echoing "to wait."
Line 4 means "as what should be visited"; against "no one comes to call" in the preceding poem, only the wind visits.
Line 5 means "does the wind blow?" ramu being present conjecture.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
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