Utsusemi no kara wa kigoto ni todomuredo tama no yukue o minu zo kanashiki - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

空蝉のからは木ごとにとどむれど
魂のゆくへを見ぬぞ悲しき

Roma-ji: Utsusemi no kara wa kigoto ni todomuredo tama no yukue o minu zo kanashiki
English Translation: The cicada's shells
on every tree remain,
left behind, and yet
where the soul has wandered off
I cannot see—how sad it is.
Meaning: The cicadas leave their empty shells behind on every tree, yet I cannot see where their souls have gone—and that is what grieves me.
Commentary: Book Ten Names of Things 448

Headnote: "Chinese bush clover"
This poem grieves that the cicadas leave their shells on every tree, but where their souls have gone cannot be seen. The title "karahagi" (Chinese bush clover) is hidden in "kara wa kigoto ni" in the second line. It expresses sorrow in thinking of the whereabouts of the soul that has left only its shell behind. In singing of the cicada shell, it shares a thread with 424, 425, and 443 in this book.
The poet is recorded as "anonymous," and the name has not come down to us.

First line "Utsusemi no" refers to the cicada's shed shell, used here as an actual scene rather than a pillow word.
Second line "kara wa kigoto ni" means "the shells, on every tree." The title "karahagi" is hidden in "kara wa ki."
Third line "todomuredo" means "though they leave them behind," continuing concessively into the lower verse.
Fourth line "tama no yukue o" means "where the soul has gone," thinking of the cicada's life and spirit.
Fifth line "minu zo kanashiki" closes in the attributive "kanashiki" in answer to "zo," expressing the sorrow of not seeing where it went.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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