One hundred poems, one hundred poets. #1

the thatch is rough

and my sleeves are wet

with tears

in a makeshift hut of straw

from the rice fields of autumn

秋の田のかりほの庵の苫をあらみわが衣手は露にぬれつつ

Aki no ta no kario no io no toma o arami waga koromode wa tsuyu ni nure tsutsu

(Emperor Tenchi)

from autumn's rice field

a makeshift hut of straw

its thatch so rough 

the sleeves of my robe

are wet with tears

in autumn's rice fields
a makeshift hut for shelter
its thatch so coarse
the sleeves of my robe
are damp with dew

秋 aki autumn

田 ta rice field, rice paddy, field

かりkari = harvested ears of rice

ほ ho rice-sheaf or bundle

かりほ kari-ho = sheafs of the harvested rice/dried rice sheafs

Kario = temporary huts (of dried sheaf?)

苫 toma rush matting/thatch

を O = case particle (with adjective stem + suffix mi) = cause

あら ara = rough/coarse

-み suffix mi, with case particle を O = since, because

O ara-mi = since/because (the rush-mat/thatch is) rough/coarse

庵 io, hut

-の -no  genitive post-particle

-Wa post-particle of nominative case, or separation of a phrase from the rest of a sentence.

わが waga = my, our

-wo post-particle of accusative case

衣 Koromo garment; clothes; dressing

手De hand

衣手 Koromode = sleeve

ぬれ nure = wet

つつ tsutsu = becoming, being, while;

露 tsuyu = dew, tears, expose,

に ni = case particle (to, in, on, into, at)

Aki no ta no

autumn of rice fields of

Kariho no io no

Temporary hut of hut of

Toma o arami

Rush-mat/thatch rough because

Waga koromode wa

My sleeves

Tsuyu ni nure tsutsu

Dew/tears on wet becoming


Because the thatch/rush-mat of the makeshift/temporary hut in the rice field of autumn is rough, my sleeves are wet with dew/tears