Yume ka tomo nani ka omowamu ukiyo o ba somukazarikemu hodo zo kuyashiki - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

夢かともなにか思はむ憂き世をば
背かざりけむほどぞ悔しき

Roma-ji: Yume ka tomo nani ka omowamu ukiyo o ba somukazarikemu hodo zo kuyashiki
English Translation: That it is a dream—
why should I ever think so?
This world of sorrow,
that I did not turn from it
sooner is what I regret.
Meaning: Why should I think it a dream? What I regret is only the time I spent without turning my back on this world of sorrow.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1720

Headnote: "When I had renounced the world and was living at a place called Ono, Narihira Ason came, pushing his way through snow piled very deep, and composed a poem saying 'I think it must be a dream; could I have imagined it?'; in reply."
A poem on the life of one who has left the world, it replies to a poem by Ariwara no Narihira. He does not think his present life a dream; what he regrets is not having left this world of sorrow sooner. According to the headnote, it answers Narihira, who came through deep snow to visit him while he lived in Ono after taking vows, and composed a poem saying "I think it must be a dream; could I have imagined it?"
The author, "Prince Koretaka," was the eldest son of Emperor Montoku. His mother was Ki no Shizuko. He never took the throne, and after taking vows he lived in seclusion at Ono at the foot of Mount Hiei.
Narihira's poem is in the Kokin Wakashū, Miscellaneous Poems II: "Wasurete wa / yume ka to zo omou / omoiki ya / yuki fumiwakete / kimi o mimu to wa" ("Forgetting, I think it must be a dream—could I have imagined I would push through the snow to see you?"). It also appears in The Tales of Ise. Having made his way through the snow to visit the prince, he grieved to see him so changed and wondered if it was a dream.

The first line, "yume ka tomo," takes up "yume ka to zo omou" from Narihira's poem, answering in the manner of an exchange by quoting the other's words.
In the second line, "nani ka omowamu," "ka" is a rhetorical particle closed in kakari-musubi by the attributive form of the conjectural "mu." Meaning "why should I think it a dream? I do not," the poem pauses here.
The third line, "ukiyo o ba," means "this world of sorrow." "O ba" singles it out strongly as the world to be abandoned.
The fourth line, "somukazarikemu," means "that I did not turn away from." "Kemu" is an auxiliary of past conjecture, looking back on the days before he took vows.
The last line, "hodo zo kuyashiki," closes the kakari-musubi of "zo" with the attributive form of the adjective "kuyashiki." He rather affirms the condition Narihira lamented as a dream, answering with regret that he left the world so late.
Author: Prince Koretaka
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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