Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
朝ぼらけ
Fujiwara no Sadayori · 権中納言定頼
朝ぼらけ
宇治の川霧
絶えだえに
あらはれ渡る
瀬々の網代木
Historical kana
あさぼらけ
うぢのかはぎり
たえだえに
あらはれわたる
せぜのあじろぎ
Original English translation
At daybreak, gaps open in the Uji River mist, revealing fish-weir stakes across the shallows.
History and context
Sadayori’s poem belongs to the Senzaishū winter section. Uji’s fishing weirs show ordinary river work through the refined visual attention of court poetry.
Imagery and wordplay
The landscape appears gradually as mist thins. Repeated gaps and shallows make the unveiling rhythmic.
Senzaishū · 千載集冬419
Japanese text and historical kana follow the linked Wikisource transcription. Classical poems can have variant spellings and wording in different anthologies. The source anthology reference identifies the version represented in this collection, not necessarily its earliest surviving text. English prose translations and reading notes are original interpretations; some wordplay permits more than one reading.