Hitori shite yo o shi tsukusaba Takasago no matsu no tokiwa mo kai nakarikeri - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

独りして世をし尽くさば高砂の
松の常磐もかひなかりけり

Roma-ji: Hitori shite yo o shi tsukusaba Takasago no matsu no tokiwa mo kai nakarikeri
English Translation: If all alone
I must live out my days,
then the evergreen
of Takasago's pine trees
would be of no use at all.
Meaning: If I must live out my days all alone, then even the everlasting green of the pines of Takasago would be worth nothing.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Miscellaneous Love Poems 1271

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet says that if he must live out his life alone, even the unchanging green of the pines of Takasago would be in vain. Citing the pines of Takasago, symbols of long life, he sings of the loneliness of a solitary life: however long one lives, it is empty without someone to share it.
The author, written as "Tsurayuki," is Ki no Tsurayuki, the leading compiler of the Kokinshū, who wrote its kana preface and the Tosa Diary. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "hitori shite," means "all alone."
Second line, "yo o shi tsukusaba," means "if I live out my life," with "shi" emphatic and "ba" after the irrealis form expressing supposition.
Third line, "Takasago no," means "of Takasago" in Harima, famous for its long-lived pines.
Fourth line, "matsu no tokiwa mo," means "even the unchanging green of the pine," speaking of long life.
Final line, "kai nakarikeri," means "would be worth nothing, I find," with "keri" expressing a sigh of realization.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Shui Wakashu
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