Ko no moto wa miru hito shigeshi sakurabana yoso ni nagamete ka o ba oshiman

木の下は見る人しげし桜花
よそに眺めて香をば惜しまん

Roma-ji: Ko no moto wa miru hito shigeshi sakurabana yoso ni nagamete ka o ba oshiman
English Translation: Under the tree's boughs
there are crowds of those who look;
O cherry blossoms,
gazing on you from afar,
I shall cherish your sweet scent.
Meaning: Beneath the tree the viewers crowd thick. O cherry blossoms, I will gaze at you from afar and treasure your fragrance.
Commentary: Spring Poems 95

Headnote: "When people composed poems on a folding screen painting, on a scene of courtiers viewing blossoms in a crowd, with someone standing apart looking on"
According to the headnote, when people composed poems on a painted folding screen, there was a scene of spring courtiers viewing blossoms in a crowd and a figure standing apart, looking on from a distance. The poet speaks for that figure: since the space beneath the tree is crowded, he will gaze from afar and cherish the fragrance of the flowers.
In the figure who does not join the lively party but quietly savors the blossoms from a distance, one can also see Saigyō's own way of being with the flowers. It resonates with 87, where crowds of viewers were called the cherry's fault.

First line, “ko no moto wa”: beneath the cherry tree.
Second line, “miru hito shigeshi”: the viewers are thick, with a break after the second line.
Third line, “sakurabana”: an address to the cherry blossoms.
Fourth line, “yoso ni nagamete”: gazing from a distance.
Fifth line, “ka o ba oshiman”: n expresses intention, I will cherish the scent, closing the poem.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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