Hakanakute yo ni furu yori wa Yamashina no miya no kusaki to naramashi mono o - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

はかなくて世に経るよりは山科の
宮の草木とならましものを

Roma-ji: Hakanakute yo ni furu yori wa Yamashina no miya no kusaki to naramashi mono o
English Translation: Rather than live on
in this world so emptily,
if only I could be
the grass and trees of the tomb
there at Yamashina
Meaning: Rather than lingering on in this empty world, I would sooner become the grass and trees of the imperial tomb at Yamashina.
Commentary: Book Twenty Congratulatory Poems 1389

Headnote: "Sent while grieving over the world after the late emperor was no more."
The poet says that rather than living on emptily in this world, he wishes he could become the grass and trees of the tomb at Yamashina. After the death of Emperor Daigo, he grieves at the futility of life without his lord and wishes rather to become the plants of the tomb and stay by him.
According to the headnote, he sent this while lamenting the state of the world after the late emperor, Emperor Daigo, had passed away. The "miya" of Yamashina refers to Emperor Daigo's tomb at Yamashina. The next poem is Fujiwara no Kanesuke's reply, and the two form an exchange.
The poet, "the Sanjō Minister of the Right," is Fujiwara no Sadakata. A son of Fujiwara no Takafuji, he rose to Minister of the Right and was called the Sanjō Minister of the Right. His sister Inshi was the mother of Emperor Daigo, making him the emperor's uncle. The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu includes his poem "Na ni shi owaba Ausakayama no sanekazura."

The first line, "Hakanakute," means "emptily, to no purpose."
The second line, "yo ni furu yori wa," means "rather than living on in the world."
The third line, "Yamashina no," means "of Yamashina" in Yamashiro.
The fourth line, "miya no kusaki to," means "the grass and trees of the tomb," taken up word for word in the first two lines of the next poem.
The last line, "naramashi mono o," means "if only I could become," with "mashi" an unrealizable wish and "mono o" exclamatory.
Author: Fujiwara no Sadakata
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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