Ware mo itsu zo aramashikaba to mishi hito o shinobu to sureba itodo soiyuku

English Translation

I too—when shall I?
"If only they were living,"
those I knew so well,
when I try to remember them,
how their number keeps on growing.

Meaning

And I—when will it be my turn? When I try to remember those I knew, of whom I think "if only they were alive," their number only keeps on growing.

Commentary

Book Eight Lament Poems 835

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On the heart of impermanence."
This is the fifth poem of the sequence on the heart of impermanence, and the last poem of that sequence. It asks when his own turn will come, and says that when he tries to remember those he knew and wishes were alive, their number only grows. The headnote continues from the preceding poem, a composition on "the heart of impermanence."
No author's name is given for this poem in the text, and it follows the author of the preceding poem. The author was the son of Chancellor Fujiwara no Tadamichi and served four times as head of the Tendai school.
The scene and place are not recorded.
The direct occasion is composing on the topic "the heart of impermanence."

The first line, "ware mo itsu zo," means "and I—when will it be?" It is hypermetric, with six syllables, asking when he too will join the ranks of the dead.
In the second line, "aramashikaba to," "mashikaba" is counterfactual, meaning "if only they were alive." It speaks of the feeling one holds toward the dead.
The third line, "mishi hito o," means "those I knew well," referring to people now gone.
In the fourth line, "shinobu to sureba," "ba" is a conjunctive of sequence, meaning "when I try to remember."
In the last line, "itodo soiyuku," "itodo" means "all the more." "Soiyuku" means to be added, speaking of the growing number of the dead to be remembered. Remembering one brings to mind another and another, and before long he too will join their ranks. "Ware mo" in the first line and "soiyuku" in the last answer each other. Following the preceding poem, 834, which sang of the nearness of his own death, this poem sings of himself joining the ranks of the dead, and the sequence on the heart of impermanence comes to a close.

Author

Jien

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other