Sumiwabinu ima wa kagiri to yamazato ni tsumagi korubeki yado motometemu - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

住みわびぬ今は限りと山里に
爪木こるべき宿求めてむ

Roma-ji: Sumiwabinu ima wa kagiri to yamazato ni tsumagi korubeki yado motometemu
English Translation: Weary of this life,
"Now it is the end," I say,
and in a mountain village
where one cuts twigs for firewood
I will seek a dwelling place
Meaning: I have grown weary of living in this world. Saying "Now it is the end," I will seek out a dwelling in some mountain village where one cuts twigs for firewood.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1083

Headnote: "At a time when I had come to find the world hateful."
The poet says that he has grown weary of living in the world and, thinking it the end, will seek a dwelling in a mountain village where one cuts twigs for firewood. He speaks of the wish, born of disgust with the world, to leave the capital and live hidden in the mountains.
According to the headnote, it was composed when he had come to find the world hateful. The Tales of Ise, section 59, gives it as the poem of a man who meant to live in the Eastern Hills, with the fourth line as "mi o kakusubeki," where I might hide myself.
The poet, Ariwara no Narihira, was a son of Prince Abo and a younger half-brother of Ariwara no Yukihira. One of the Six Poetic Immortals and the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals, he is taken as the model for the hero of the Tales of Ise. The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu includes his poem "Chihayaburu kamiyo mo kikazu tatsutagawa."

The first line, "Sumiwabinu," means "I have grown weary of living," with "wabu" to find something painful and "nu" the perfective auxiliary. The poem pauses here.
The second line, "ima wa kagiri to," means "thinking that now it is the end," showing his resolve to give up on the world.
The third line, "yamazato ni," means "in a mountain village," a place to live hidden away from the capital.
The fourth line, "tsumagi korubeki," means "where one would cut firewood twigs," with "tsumagi" small branches for fuel and "koru" to cut wood. He pictures a humble life in the mountains.
The last line, "yado motometemu," means "I will seek a dwelling," with "temu" expressing firm intention.
Author: Ariwara no Narihira
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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