Ada naredo sakura nomi koso furusato no mukashi nagara no mono ni wa arikere - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あだなれど桜のみこそ故里の
昔ながらのものにはありけれ

Roma-ji: Ada naredo sakura nomi koso furusato no mukashi nagara no mono ni wa arikere
English Translation: Fleeting though they are,
it is the cherries alone
in the old village
that remain just as they were
in the days of long ago.
Meaning: Fleeting though they are, the cherries alone remain in the old village just as they were long ago.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems 48

Headnote: "For a folding screen at the house of the Consultant and Middle Captain Lord Atsutada"
The cherry is a fleeting flower that scatters easily, yet in an old village that has decayed and changed entirely, only the cherries bloom just as they did long ago. The theme is the contrast between the changing world of people and the cherries that bloom unchanged each year. According to the headnote, the poem accompanied a screen at the house of the Consultant and Middle Captain Fujiwara no Atsutada.
The author, written as Tsurayuki, is Ki no Tsurayuki. He was the leading compiler of the Kokinshū and wrote its kana preface. Known also as the author of the Tosa Diary, he is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "ada naredo," means "fleeting though it is."
Second line, "sakura nomi koso," uses "koso," resolved by the perfective "kere" in the final line.
Third line, "furusato no," refers to an old village, a place that once flourished. The next poem also places "furusato no" in its third line, and the two stand side by side.
Fourth line, "mukashi nagara no," means "just as of old."
Final line, "mono ni wa arikere," closes with "kere," showing the realization that the cherry alone has not changed.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Shui Wakashu
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