Chiru o mite kaeru kokoro ya sakurabana mukashi ni kawaru shirushi naruran

散るを見て帰る心や桜花
昔にかはるしるしなるらん

Roma-ji: Chiru o mite kaeru kokoro ya sakurabana mukashi ni kawaru shirushi naruran
English Translation: Having seen them fall,
this heart that just comes back home,
O cherry blossoms,
is it then a sign that I
have changed from what I was once?
Meaning: This heart of mine, which comes home after seeing the blossoms fall, O cherry, is it a sign that I have changed from what I once was?
Commentary: Spring Poems 104

Headnote: "After leaving the world, while I was living in the Eastern Hills, someone invited me to the blossoms of Shirakawa in their prime; I went, and on returning I recalled the past"
According to the headnote, after leaving the world and while living in the Eastern Hills, the poet was invited to see the blossoms of Shirakawa in their prime; he went, and on returning he recalled the past. That his heart now comes home without lingering even after seeing the blossoms fall, he asks the cherry, is that a sign he has changed from who he used to be?
Before taking vows, he could not tear himself away from falling blossoms; now he returns calmly. He reflects on whether to see this change as proof of his entry into the Buddhist path or as a fading of the heart.

First line, “chiru o mite”: having seen the blossoms fall.
Second line, “kaeru kokoro ya”: the heart that goes back home; the interrogative ya forms a kakari-musubi with ran in the fifth line.
Third line, “sakurabana”: an address to the cherry blossoms.
Fourth line, “mukashi ni kawaru”: changed from the past.
Fifth line, “shirushi naruran”: is it a sign, closing with the conjectural ran as the poet questions the change in his heart.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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