Obotsukana hana wa kokoro no haru ni nomi izure no toshi ka ukaresomeken

おぼつかな花は心の春にのみ
いづれの年かうかれ初めけん

Roma-ji: Obotsukana hana wa kokoro no haru ni nomi izure no toshi ka ukaresomeken
English Translation: How it troubles me:
when it comes to flowers, my heart
turns to spring alone;
in what year was it, I wonder,
that it first began to stray?
Meaning: How uneasy it makes me: with blossoms, my heart turns only to spring. In what year, I wonder, did it first begin to wander so?
Commentary: Spring Poems 149

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When composing fifteen poems on cherry blossoms"
When it comes to blossoms, the poet's heart turns only toward spring and floats away. In what year, he wonders, did he first begin to be so carried away by the flowers?
By asking when this restlessness began, he shows that it goes back further than he can remember. The first line obotsukana is the same as in 146, the same opening repeated within the sequence.

First line, “obotsukana”: the stem of the adjective obotsukanashi, how uneasy, an exclamation with a break after the first line.
Second line, “hana wa kokoro no”: with blossoms, the heart's.
Third line, “haru ni nomi”: toward spring alone, the heart turning only to the flower season.
Fourth line, “izure no toshi ka”: the interrogative ka forms a kakari-musubi with ken in the fifth line.
Fifth line, “ukaresomeken”: did it begin to wander, closing with the past conjectural ken.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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