Nani to ka ya yo ni arigataki na o etaru hana mo sakura ni masari shi mo seji

何とかや世にありがたき名を得たる
花も桜にまさりしもせじ

Roma-ji: Nani to ka ya yo ni arigataki na o etaru hana mo sakura ni masari shi mo seji
English Translation: What was it called now,
that flower famed throughout the world
as so rare a thing?
Even it could not surpass
the cherry, surely not.
Meaning: What was its name again, that flower famed as so rare in all the world? Even it, surely, could never surpass the cherry.
Commentary: Spring Poems 79

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When composing many poems on cherry blossoms"
The poet has heard of a flower famed as exceedingly rare, though he cannot recall what it is called; even such a flower, he says, could hardly surpass the cherry.
By claiming not even to remember its name, the poet shows how any celebrated flower pales beside the cherry. Like the praise in 73 that no tree can match the cherry, this poem extols the cherry's peerlessness.

First line, “nani to ka ya”: what was it called, framed as not recalling the name.
Second line, “yo ni arigataki”: rare in the world.
Third line, “na o etaru”: that has won renown.
Fourth line, “hana mo sakura ni”: even such a flower, compared to the cherry.
Fifth line, “masari shi mo seji”: ji expresses negative conjecture, it would never surpass it, closing with firm assertion.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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