Izuku ni mo sumarezu wa tada sumade aramu shiba no iori no shibashi naru yo ni - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

いづくにも住まれずはただ住まであらむ
柴の庵のしばしなる世に

Roma-ji: Izuku ni mo sumarezu wa tada sumade aramu shiba no iori no shibashi naru yo ni
English Translation: If I cannot dwell
in any place at all, I'll simply
live without a dwelling,
for like a hut of brushwood
this world lasts but a brief while.
Meaning: If I can settle nowhere, I will simply stay unsettled, for this world is brief and makeshift, like a hut of brushwood.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1780

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
A poem on where to rest in an impermanent world, the first of two by Saigyō. If he can settle nowhere, he will simply stay unsettled, for this world is as brief and makeshift as a brushwood hut. It shows Saigyō's spirit, seeking no fixed abode and resolved to live as a wanderer. The headnote gives no topic, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author, "Saigyō Hōshi," is Saigyō. His lay name was Satō Norikiyo; he served Retired Emperor Toba as a guard of the Northern Quarters but took vows while young. He traveled the provinces composing poems, and his personal collection is the Sankashū.

The first line, "izuku ni mo," means "anywhere."
The second line, "sumarezu wa tada," means "if I cannot dwell, then simply." "Re" is the irrealis of the potential "ru," and "zu wa" marks a negative supposition.
The third line, "sumade aramu," means "I will remain without dwelling." With six syllables, one over the norm, it repeats "sumu," to dwell, to show his resolve, and the poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "shiba no iori no," is a rough hut woven of brushwood, which leads by sound to "shibashi."
The last line, "shibashi naru yo ni," means "in a world that lasts but a little while." The echo of "shiba" and "shibashi" lays the makeshift hut over the fleeting world, and inversion gives the reason he will remain unsettled.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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