Ashigaki no hoka to wa miredo fuji no hana nioi wa ware o hedatezari keri - Kinyo Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

蘆垣の外とは見れど藤の花
にほひは我をへだてざりけり

Roma-ji: Ashigaki no hoka to wa miredo fuji no hana nioi wa ware o hedatezari keri
English Translation: Past the hedge of reeds,
on the other side, it seems,
the wisteria blooms;
yet its beauty does not keep
me apart from it at all
Meaning: The wisteria seems to lie beyond the reed fence, yet its beauty does not keep me apart from it.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 88

Though the wisteria blooms on the far side of a reed fence, its beauty reaches the poet over the barrier. His longing for the screened-off flowers is consoled by a beauty that cannot be screened.

First line, 'ashigaki no', uses ashigaki, a fence woven of reeds, a symbol of separation.
Second line, 'hoka to wa miredo', means though I see it as outside.
Third line, 'fuji no hana', states the theme and closes the wisteria sequence.
Fourth line, 'nioi wa ware o', uses nioi, the radiant beauty or scent of the wisteria.
Final line, 'hedatezari keri', means it did not separate me, contrasting with the barrier of the reed fence in the first line.
Source: Kinyo Wakashu
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