Uchitaete yo ni furu mi ni wa aranedomo aranu suji ni mo tsumi zo kanashiki - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

うち絶えて世に経る身にはあらねども
あらぬ筋にも罪ぞ悲しき

Roma-ji: Uchitaete yo ni furu mi ni wa aranedomo aranu suji ni mo tsumi zo kanashiki
English Translation: Though I am not one
who lives out his days entirely
within the world's ways,
even in unlooked-for paths
sins accrue—and I grieve.
Meaning: Though I am not one who lives wholly in the world, it grieves me that I commit sins even along paths I never thought of.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1756

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on the feeling of personal grievance."
This is the tenth of the poems on turning from the world and the last of three by Jien. Though he is not one who lives wholly in the world, it grieves him that he commits sins even in unlooked-for ways. Though a monk, he laments piling up sins through involvement in worldly affairs.
The author, "Former Archbishop Jien," is Jien. No author is named in the original; the attribution continues from the preceding poem. A son of Fujiwara no Tadamichi and younger brother of Kujō Kanezane, he served four times as Tendai abbot and wrote the historical treatise Gukanshō.

The first line, "uchitaete," means "wholly, entirely," answering the negative in the third line.
The second line, "yo ni furu mi ni wa," means "one who lives in the world."
The third line, "aranedomo," means "though I am not." "Domo" is concessive.
The fourth line, "aranu suji ni mo," means "even in unexpected directions." "Arane" of the third line and "aranu" here are laid side by side.
The last line, "tsumi zo kanashiki," closes the kakari-musubi of "zo" with the attributive form of the adjective "kanashiki." His grief that even as a monk he cannot escape sin closes Jien's three poems.
Author: Jien
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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