Sasagani no sora ni sugaku mo onaji koto mataki yado ni mo ikuyo ka wa hemu - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

ささがにの空に巣かくも同じこと
またき宿にもいくよかは経む

Roma-ji: Sasagani no sora ni sugaku mo onaji koto mataki yado ni mo ikuyo ka wa hemu
English Translation: The spider spinning
its web up in the empty sky—
it is just the same;
how many nights, or lives, could one
pass in even the soundest house?
Meaning: A spider spinning its web in the empty sky is no different; even in the soundest house, how many nights or lifetimes could one live?
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1817

Headnote: "At dusk, seeing a spider spinning its web most frailly, and finding it more moving than usual."
This is the second of the poems on the self through the spider. A spider's flimsy web in the empty sky and a human's sound house are the same; how many nights or lifetimes could one live in either? According to the headnote, it was composed at dusk on seeing a spider spinning its web most frailly and feeling it more poignant than usual.
The author, "Archbishop Henjō," had the lay name Yoshimine no Munesada and was a grandson of Emperor Kanmu. He served Emperor Ninmyō and took vows on the emperor's death, rising to Archbishop. He is counted among the Six Poetic Immortals.

The first line, "sasagani no," is the same as that of the preceding poem, here meaning the spider itself.
The second line, "sora ni sugaku mo," means "spinning a web in the empty air," a symbol of a frail dwelling.
The third line, "onaji koto," means "it is the same." He sees the spider's web and a human house as one, and the poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "mataki yado ni mo," means "even in a sound, complete house." "Matashi" is an adjective meaning complete.
In the last line, "ikuyo ka wa hemu," "ikuyo" means "how many nights" and also "how many lifetimes." "Ka wa" is rhetorical, meaning not many at all. It shows that both web and house are impermanent.
Author: Henjō
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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