Tanomarenu ukiyo no naka o nagekitsutsu hikage ni ouru mi o ika ni sen - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

頼まれぬ憂き世の中を嘆きつつ
日陰に生ふる身をいかにせん

Roma-ji: Tanomarenu ukiyo no naka o nagekitsutsu hikage ni ouru mi o ika ni sen
English Translation: In this faithless world,
this world of sorrow, I lament
the passing days—
what am I to do, a self
that grows where no sun shines
Meaning: Lamenting this sorrowful world on which no one can rely, what am I to do with myself, growing like a weed in the shade where no sunlight falls?
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems II 1125

Headnote: "Having something on my mind, I sent this to the former Chancellor."
The poet laments a sorrowful world that cannot be relied on and asks what to do with himself, a weed growing in the shade. Likening himself, out of favor and with no prospects at court, to grass where the sun never reaches, he quietly hints at his wish for patronage from the powerful.
According to the headnote, he sent it to the former Chancellor because something weighed on his mind. The one who was Chancellor in Narihira's lifetime was Fujiwara no Yoshifusa, and he is thought to be meant.
It is the opening poem of Miscellaneous Poems II. It answers the closing poem, 1194, which ends the book with a plea of misfortune asking that word be carried to the emperor, so laments over one's lot frame the book.
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 first line, "Tanomarenu," means "that cannot be relied on," with "re" the irrealis of the potential auxiliary "ru" and "nu" the attributive of the negative "zu."
The second line, "ukiyo no naka o," means "this sorrowful world." "Ukiyo no naka" also appears in 1166 of this book.
The third line, "nagekitsutsu," means "lamenting all the while," with "tsutsu" continuation.
The fourth line, "hikage ni ouru," means "growing in the shade," likening himself, out of fortune's favor, to grass that gets no sunlight. It is close in feeling to "kage no kuchiki," the rotting tree in the shade, in 1175 of this book.
The last line, "mi o ika ni sen," means "what am I to do with myself," expressing his sense of being at a loss.
Author: Ariwara no Narihira
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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