Nani ka itou yo mo nagaraeji sa nomi ya wa uki ni taetaru inochi narubeki - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

なにか厭ふよもながらへじさのみやは
憂きに堪へたる命なるべき

Roma-ji: Nani ka itou yo mo nagaraeji sa nomi ya wa uki ni taetaru inochi narubeki
English Translation: Why should I hate life?
surely it will not last long;
can it be that it
will go on forever so,
a life enduring such pain
Meaning: Why should I hate my life? Surely it will not last long. How could a life go on forever enduring such pain?
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 1228

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the ninth poem of the sequence on resenting a cold-hearted lover and enduring the pain. Why hate life? It will surely not last long; how could a life go on forever enduring such pain? The headnote continues "Topic unknown" from the preceding poem, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author, "Taifu of Inpumon'in," was a daughter of Fujiwara no Nobunari and served Inpumon'in, Princess Ryōshi, a daughter of Emperor Go-Shirakawa.

The first line, "nani ka itou," means "why should I hate it?" It has six syllables, one more than the norm, with a pause after the first line. She herself denies the heart that, in its pain, would hate life.
The second line, "yo mo nagaraeji," means "surely it will not last," with a pause after the second line. "Yo mo ... ji" means "surely ... not."
The third line, "sa nomi ya wa," means "forever so?" "Ya wa" is rhetorical, forming a kakari-musubi with "beki" in the last line.
The fourth line, "uki ni taetaru," means "enduring pain," taking up "ukimi," "a wretched self," in the preceding poem.
The last line, "inochi narubeki," means "could it be such a life?" It closes with the paradoxical comfort that no life can go on enduring pain, so life will end without being hated. The next poem also sings of "life," and the heart that hates life and the heart that holds it dear are set side by side.
Author: Inpumon-in no Taifu
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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