Sadame naki ukiyo no naka to shirinureba izuko mo tabi no kokochi koso sure - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

定めなき憂き世の中と知りぬれば
いづこも旅の心地こそすれ

Roma-ji: Sadame naki ukiyo no naka to shirinureba izuko mo tabi no kokochi koso sure
English Translation: Now that I know
this world of sorrows
holds nothing certain,
wherever I may be
I feel I am on a journey
Meaning: Now that I have learned this sorrowful world holds nothing certain, wherever I am, I feel as though I were on a journey.
Commentary: Book Eight Travel Poems 517

Headnote: "Composed on the road on a pilgrimage to Kōya"
Composed on the road on a pilgrimage to Mount Kōya. Since I have come to know that this sorrowful world holds nothing certain, wherever I am I feel I am on a journey, the poet says. From the Buddhist view that this world is itself a temporary lodging, he extends the feeling of travel to the whole of life.
The author, "Prince-Priest of Kōya (Kakuhō)," is Prince Kakuhō, fourth son of Emperor Shirakawa, who became abbot of Ninnaji. He often secluded himself on Mount Kōya and was called the Kōya Omuro.

First line, "sadame naki": "without certainty," impermanent.
Second line, "ukiyo no naka to": "ukiyo" is this sorrowful world.
Third line, "shirinureba": "nure" is the perfective form of "nu," and with "ba" gives a reason, "since I have come to know."
Fourth line, "izuko mo tabi no": "wherever I am, of a journey," seeing the whole world as a lodging on the road. Poem 533 of this book also sees this world as a journey, calling it "tabi no yo."
Fifth line, "kokochi koso sure": the emphatic "koso" closes with the perfective "sure." It shares its last line with 509 of this book; where 509 sings of the moon sleeping on a journey, this poem sees the world itself as a journey.
Author: Prince Kakuhō
Source: Senzai Wakashu
Prev Poem: Wata no hara haruka ni nami o hedatekite miyako ni ideshi tsuki o miru kana
Next Poem: Obotsukana ika ni Narumi no hate naramu yukue mo shiranu tabi no kanashisa