Kuchi mo senu sono na bakari o todomeokite kareno no susuki katami to zo miru

English Translation

Leaving behind him
only that name of his
which never decays—
the pampas grass on the withered moor
I see as what he left.

Meaning

He left in this world only his name, which will never decay; and I look upon the pampas grass on the withered moor as his keepsake.

Commentary

Book Eight Lament Poems 793

Headnote: "When I went down to Michinoku, there was a conspicuous mound in the middle of a moor, and I had someone ask about it. He answered that it was the grave of the Middle Captain, and when I asked which Middle Captain, he said it was Lord Sanekata. It was winter, the frost-withered pampas grass stretched dimly into the distance, and the moment struck me as deeply sad."
This is the nineteenth poem of the sequence remembering the dead through the things of autumn. It says that the man left behind only his name, which never decays, and the poet sees the pampas grass of the withered moor as his keepsake. According to the headnote, when he went down to Michinoku he found a conspicuous mound in a moor, learned that it was the grave of the Middle Captain Sanekata, and, as it was winter and the frost-withered pampas grass stretched dimly into the distance, he felt deeply saddened and composed the poem.
The author's lay name was Satō Norikiyo; he had been a warrior of the Northern Guard under Retired Emperor Toba but took holy orders at twenty-three and traveled through the provinces composing poems. "Lord Sanekata" is Fujiwara no Sanekata, who became Middle Captain of the Left Inner Palace Guards but went down to Michinoku as its governor and died there in Chōtoku 4 (998).
The scene is winter, set near Sanekata's grave in a moor in Michinoku.
The direct occasion is seeing Sanekata's grave on a journey through Michinoku.
The poem also appears in the author's personal collection, Sankashū. Sanekata's grave is said to be in present-day Natori in Miyagi Prefecture.

The first line, "kuchi mo senu," means "that never decays." It contains a contrast: though the body in the grave decays, the name does not.
In the second line, "sono na bakari o," "sono na" is Sanekata's name. "Bakari" is restrictive, meaning "only the name."
The third line, "todomeokite," means "leaving it behind in this world." It says that Sanekata departed the world leaving only his name.
The fourth line, "kareno no susuki," is the pampas grass of a moor withered by frost. Taking up "frost-withered pampas grass" from the headnote, the withered grass stands in contrast with "kuchi mo senu" in the first line.
In the last line, "katami to zo miru," "zo" is an emphatic binding particle, completed by the attributive "miru." Setting the undecaying name beside the withered grass, it says that the only visible keepsake is the pampas grass of the withered moor. The headnote says it was winter, and within the sequence on the things of autumn, the frost-withered grass deepens the season toward winter. Where the poems before it lament the deaths of people close to the poets, here the poet, on a journey, remembers a man of long ago whom he never met.

Author

Saigyō

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other