Sahogawa no nagare hisashiki mi naredomo ukise ni aite shizuminuru kana - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

佐保川の流れ久しき身なれども
うき瀬にあひて沈みぬるかな

Roma-ji: Sahogawa no nagare hisashiki mi naredomo ukise ni aite shizuminuru kana
English Translation: Like the Saho River,
I come of a line that has flowed
long through the ages,
yet meeting with bitter shoals
I have sunk beneath the stream.
Meaning: Though I come of a line that has flowed long like the Saho River, I have met with bitter shoals and sunk beneath the waters.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems II 1647

Headnote: "At a time when I had cause for grief."
This is the first poem of a sequence lamenting one's lot by way of rivers. Though born of a house long-flowing like the Saho River, the poet has met with bitter shoals and sunk. According to the headnote, it was composed at a time when he had cause for grief.
The author, "Chisokuin Nyūdō Saki no Kanpaku Daijō-daijin," is Fujiwara no Tadazane. A son of Regent Fujiwara no Moromichi, he rose to Regent and Chancellor. In his later years he withdrew to the Chisokuin.
The Saho River in Yamato Province flows from the foot of Mount Kasuga in Nara. It is a poetic place name sung with plovers and river mist.

The first line, "Sahogawa no," means "of the Saho River" in Nara. Flowing through Kasuga, home of the Fujiwara clan deity, it figures the lineage of his house.
The second line, "nagare hisashiki," means "long-flowing." The flow of the river is overlaid with the long line of his house.
The third line, "mi naredomo," means "though I am such a one." "Domo" expresses an adversative settled condition.
The fourth line, "ukise ni aite," pivots on "uki," both "bitter" and "floating." With "flow," "shoal," and "sink," it strings together words associated with the river.
The last line, "shizuminuru kana," means "I have sunk." Pairing "floating" and "sinking," it laments a self fallen into disappointment.
Author: Fujiwara no Tadazane
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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