ほどもなく誰も後れぬ世なれども
とまるは行くを悲しとぞ見る
とまるは行くを悲しとぞ見る
- Roma-ji
-
Hodo mo naku tare mo okurenu yo naredomo tomaru wa yuku o kanashi to zo miru
- English Translation
-
Before very long
no one will remain behind
in this world, and yet
those who stay look on those who go
and see it as a sorrow
- Meaning
- Before long no one in this world will be left behind—and yet those who remain look upon those who go and find it sad.
- Commentary
-
Book Twenty Congratulatory Poems 1419
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
Ise says that though it is a world where before long no one will be left behind, those who stay still see the going of others as sad. Knowing that all must die and none will remain, she sings of the impermanence of human life and the feeling that still makes the living grieve for those who go first.
The poet, Ise, was a daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugukage, Governor of Ise, and served Fujiwara no Onshi, consort of Emperor Uda. She received the emperor's favor and later bore Nakatsukasa to Prince Atsuyoshi. One of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals, she is represented in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu by "Naniwagata mijikaki ashi no fushi no ma mo."
The first line, "Hodo mo naku," means "before long."
The second line, "tare mo okurenu," means "no one is left behind."
The third line, "yo naredomo," means "though it is such a world," with "domo" concessive.
The fourth line, "tomaru wa yuku o," means "those who stay, those who go," setting "stay" against "go."
The last line, "kanashi to zo miru," means "see it as sad," with "zo" closed by the attributive "miru."
- Author
- Ise
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Yoso ni oru sode dani hichishi fujigoromo namida ni hana mo miezu zo aramashi
- Next Poem
-
Toki no ma mo nagusametsuran samenu ma wa yume ni dani minu ware zo kanashiki