五月雨は小田の水口手もかけで
水の心にまかせてぞ見る
水の心にまかせてぞ見る
- Roma-ji
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Samidare wa oda no minakuchi te mo kakede mizu no kokoro ni makasete zo miru
- English Translation
-
In the early summer rains
the inlets of the paddies
I leave untouched,
and to the water's own will
I simply let them be
- Meaning
- In the season of the early summer rains, I do not touch the inlets of the rice fields, but leave them to the water's own will and simply watch.
- Commentary
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Book Two Summer Poems 139
In the rainy season water is plentiful, so the poet leaves untouched the inlets that draw water into the fields and simply watches the water flow as it will. The ease of a farmer who usually worries over water is expressed as though the water had a will of its own.
From poem 135 through poem 140 in this book come poems on the early summer rains, depicting how the long, unceasing rain swells the waters and sinks the landscape beneath them.
First line, 'samidare wa', means in the season of the summer rains, setting the time.
Second line, 'oda no minakuchi', is the inlet that brings water into a rice field, o being a prefix that smooths the rhythm.
Third line, 'te mo kakede', uses the negative conjunctive de: without laying a hand on it.
Fourth line, 'mizu no kokoro ni', means to the water's heart, personifying the water.
Final line, 'makasete zo miru', is a binding in which zo closes on the attributive miru, stressing that the poet simply leaves it and watches.
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
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Samidare ni mizu masarurashi sawadagawa maki no tsugihashi ukinu bakari ni
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Samidare ni irie no hashi no ukinureba orosu ikada no kokochi koso sure