Ukinagara nao oshimaruru inochi kana nochi no yo tote mo tanomi nakereba - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

憂きながらなほ惜しまるる命かな
後の世とても頼みなければ

Roma-ji: Ukinagara nao oshimaruru inochi kana nochi no yo tote mo tanomi nakereba
English Translation: Wretched though it is,
still, how dear it is to me,
this life that I hold,
for even in the world to come
there is nothing I can trust.
Meaning: Wretched as it is, how dear this life still seems to me—for even the world to come offers nothing I can rely on.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1772

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown."
This is the eighth of the poems on a heart that loathes the world yet cannot cast it off. Wretched as it is, life is still dear, since the next world too offers nothing to rely on. It tells of a heart that cherishes life, caught between the sorrow of this world and anxiety about the next.
The author, "Minamoto no Moromitsu," was a poet of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods.

The first line, "ukinagara," is the same as that of the preceding poem, meaning "wretched though it is."
The second line, "nao oshimaruru," means "is still held dear." "Ruru" is the attributive of the spontaneous "ru," meaning dear in spite of oneself.
In the third line, "inochi kana," "kana" is exclamatory, and the poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "nochi no yo tote mo," means "even the world to come." It also echoes the question about "the world to come" in 1765 of this book.
The last line, "tanomi nakereba," means "since there is nothing to rely on." Through inversion it gives the reason for cherishing life, voicing the anxiety of having nothing to depend on in this world or the next.
Author: Minamoto no Moromitsu
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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