Sazanami ya Shiga no miyako wa arenishi o mukashi nagara no yamazakura kana - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

さざなみや志賀の都は荒れにしを
昔ながらの山桜かな

Roma-ji: Sazanami ya Shiga no miyako wa arenishi o mukashi nagara no yamazakura kana
English Translation: Sazanami's
capital of Shiga
lies now in ruins,
yet as in days of long ago
bloom the mountain cherries of Nagara
Meaning: The old capital of Shiga by the rippling waters has fallen into ruin, yet the mountain cherries of Nagara bloom just as they did long ago.
Commentary: Book One Spring Poems I 66

Headnote: "Composed on the theme "blossoms at the old capital""
Composed on the theme "blossoms at the old capital," this poem says that the capital of Shiga, where Emperor Tenji once reigned, has fallen into ruin, yet the mountain cherries of Mount Nagara still bloom as they always have. Setting the changes of the human world against the unchanging cherries of nature, it quietly expresses nostalgia for the past.
The author's designation, "Anonymous," indicates that the poet's name is withheld. According to The Tale of the Heike, this poem was one of those Taira no Tadanori entrusted to Fujiwara no Shunzei as the Taira fled the capital; because Tadanori had become an enemy of the court, Shunzei is said to have included it anonymously.

First line, "sazanami ya": a place name for the southwest shore of Lake Biwa in Ōmi, used as a pillow word introducing "Shiga." The next poem, 67, begins with the same line, so two poems on Shiga stand together.
Second line, "Shiga no miyako wa": the capital of Shiga is the capital Emperor Tenji built at Ōtsu in Ōmi.
Third line, "arenishi o": "ni" marks completion, "shi" the past, and "o" is concessive: "though it has fallen into ruin."
Fourth line, "mukashi nagara no": "nagara" is a pivot word meaning both "as of old" and Mount Nagara in Ōmi, layering "unchanged" with the place name.
Fifth line, "yamazakura kana": the exclamatory "kana" closes the poem with feeling for the cherries of Nagara blooming as of old.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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