Nagamuru ni hana no natate no mi narazu wa kono sato nite ya kumo o kurasan

眺むるに花の名立ての身ならずは
この里にてや雲を暮らさん

Roma-ji: Nagamuru ni hana no natate no mi narazu wa kono sato nite ya kumo o kurasan
English Translation: If I were not one
who'd be talked about for gazing
at the blossoms so,
in this village I would stay,
passing days among the clouds.
Meaning: If I were not one who would earn a name for gazing at blossoms, I would stay in this village and pass my days among clouds of flowers.
Commentary: Spring Poems 97

Headnote: "While on a religious pilgrimage, at a place where the blossoms were especially lovely"
According to the headnote, this poem was composed at a place where the blossoms were especially lovely, while the poet was travelling for religious practice. Were he not someone who would be gossiped about as lost to the blossoms, he would stay in this village and spend his days gazing at flowers blooming like clouds.
It shows a heart swaying between being held back by the blossoms despite being on a pilgrimage and the scruple about it. The fourth line in the source reads kono, to nite ya, with a character missing, so it is read kono sato nite ya following the kana line. Also, the last line in the source reads kumo o kurasan, which does not match haru o kurasamu in the kana line; here the source text is followed.

First line, “nagamuru ni”: by gazing at the blossoms.
Second line, “hana no natate no”: of gaining a name for devotion to blossoms, a rumour of infatuation.
Third line, “mi narazu wa”: if I were not such a person, a condition.
Fourth line, “kono sato nite ya”: in this village where I stopped on my pilgrimage; the interrogative ya forms a kakari-musubi with n in the fifth line.
Fifth line, “kumo o kurasan”: shall I pass the day with clouds, meaning the cloud-like blossoms, closing on that image.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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