Hana ni somu kokoro no ikade nokoriken sutehatete ki to omou waga mi ni

花に染む心のいかで残りけん
捨て果ててきと思ふ我が身に

Roma-ji: Hana ni somu kokoro no ikade nokoriken sutehatete ki to omou waga mi ni
English Translation: How could it remain,
this heart steeped in the flowers,
how could it be so,
in me who thought that I had
cast off everything at last?
Meaning: How could a heart so deeply dyed by the blossoms have remained in me, who thought I had cast off everything for good?
Commentary: Spring Poems 76

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When composing many poems on cherry blossoms"
The poet reflects on himself: having taken vows and believing he had cast off every attachment to the world, how could a heart so deeply steeped in the blossoms still remain in him?
He looks frankly at a heart torn between the resolve of a monk and a love for the cherry that he simply cannot abandon. It is a poem that mirrors Saigyō's very way of life, and it was included in the Senzai Wakashū.

First line, “hana ni somu”: steeped in the blossoms, a strong attachment to the flowers.
Second line, “kokoro no ikade”: how could the heart.
Third line, “nokoriken”: ken conjectures about a past cause, how could it have remained, a self-questioning with a break after the third line.
Fourth line, “sutehatete ki”: I have cast it all away, the past ki marking the resolve of leaving the world.
Fifth line, “omou waga mi ni”: in me, who thinks so, naming in inverted order where the heart remained.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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