Yoso nite zo kikubekarikeru sakurabana me no mae nite mo chirashitsuru kana - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

よそにてぞ聞くべかりける桜花
目の前にても散らしつるかな

Roma-ji: Yoso nite zo kikubekarikeru sakurabana me no mae nite mo chirashitsuru kana
English Translation: I should have heard of it
only from far away:
these cherry blossoms
right before my very eyes
I have let scatter and fall
Meaning: I should have only heard about it from afar; instead I have let these cherry blossoms scatter right before my very eyes.
Commentary: Book Two Spring Poems II 98

Headnote: "Composed on seeing the blossoms fall"
Composed on seeing the blossoms fall. The poet regrets that he did not merely hear of the cherries' falling from afar, but instead let them scatter before his very eyes. Through the regret that seeing it up close makes the pain all the sharper, he expresses deep love for the falling flowers. It echoes the preceding poem, 97, with its thought that those who stay away are the ones with true feeling.
The author, "Priest Dōmyō," is Dōmyō, son of Major Captain of the Right Fujiwara no Michitsuna, who became a Tendai monk and served as superintendent of Tennōji. He was known for his beautiful voice in chanting sutras, and his association with Izumi Shikibu is also recorded.

First line, "yoso nite zo": "yoso" is a place far off, unconnected. The emphatic "zo" links with "keru" in the second line.
Second line, "kikubekarikeru": "bekari" is the continuative of "beshi" expressing what ought to be, and "keru" closes the construction with "zo": "I should have only heard of it," a voice of regret. The poem pauses here.
Third line, "sakurabana": names the subject.
Fourth line, "me no mae nite mo": pairs with "yoso nite" in the first line, setting far against near.
Fifth line, "chirashitsuru kana": "tsuru" is the attributive of the perfective "tsu" and "kana" is exclamatory. Speaking as if he himself had scattered them conveys regret at being unable to stop their fall before his eyes.
Author: Dōmyō
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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