Yamazato ni ukiyo itowan tomo mogana kuyashiku sugishi mukashi kataran - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

山里に憂き世厭はん友もがな
悔しく過ぎし昔語らん

Roma-ji: Yamazato ni ukiyo itowan tomo mogana kuyashiku sugishi mukashi kataran
English Translation: In the mountain village
would I had a friend to shun
this weary world with me—
of the days so sadly spent
long ago, we'd talk together.
Meaning: Would that I had a friend here in the mountain village to shun this weary world with me—we would talk together of the past, spent so regretfully.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems II 1659

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the second poem of the sequence on the heart of living in a mountain village. The poet wishes for a friend in the mountain village to shun the weary world with him, to talk together of a past spent in regret. The headnote gives the topic as unknown and records nothing of the circumstances.
The author, "Saigyō Hōshi," was named Satō Norikiyo in lay life. A guard in the service of Retired Emperor Toba, he took holy orders at the age of twenty-three.

The first line, "yamazato ni," begins with the same first line as the preceding poem, showing the dwelling in the mountain village.
The second line, "ukiyo itowan," means "who would shun the weary world." "N" is euphemistic, modifying "tomo," "friend," which follows.
The third line, "tomo mogana," means "would I had a friend." "Mogana" is a final particle of wishing, and the poem breaks here after the third line. Taking up "hitori nagamete" of the preceding poem, it seeks a friend out of the loneliness of being alone.
The fourth line, "kuyashiku sugishi," means "that passed so regretfully," looking back on the days lived in the world.
The last line, "mukashi kataran," means "we would talk of the past." It closes with the volitional "n." It sings of a heart that, even after leaving the world, still seeks someone with whom to share the past.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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