Itsu made mo inochi mo shiranu yo no naka ni tsuraki nageki no yamazu mo aru kana - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

いつまでも命も知らぬ世の中に
つらき嘆きのやまずもあるかな

Roma-ji: Itsu made mo inochi mo shiranu yo no naka ni tsuraki nageki no yamazu mo aru kana
English Translation: How long it will last
no one knows, this life of ours,
in this world of ours,
yet the grief that she inflicts
never ceases for a day.
Meaning: In this world, where no one knows how long life will last, the bitter grief of love never ceases.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 1113

Headnote: "Sent to a woman."
This is the first of two poems on the grief of a love that goes unmet through the years. In a world where no one knows how long life will last, the speaker sighs that the bitter grief of love never ceases. According to the headnote, it was sent to a woman.
The author is Fujiwara no Yoshitaka, the son of Regent Fujiwara no Koretada. He served as lesser captain of the Right Bodyguards and died at twenty-one.

The first line, "itsu made mo," means "until when," and runs on to "inochi mo shiranu" in the second line.
The second line, "inochi mo shiranu," means "not knowing the span of life," speaking of the limits of a human life.
The third line, "yo no naka ni," means "in this world."
The fourth line, "tsuraki nageki no," means "the bitter grief," the grief of love caused by the beloved's coldness.
The last line, "yamazu mo aru kana," means "it never ceases," with "kana" voicing a sigh. A life with limits is set against a grief without end, leading on to the grief of piling years in the next poem.
Author: Fujiwara no Yoshitaka
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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