Kataraishi sono yo no koe wa hototogisu ika naru yo ni mo wasuren mono ka

語らひしその夜の声はほととぎす
いかなる世にも忘れんものか

Roma-ji: Kataraishi sono yo no koe wa hototogisu ika naru yo ni mo wasuren mono ka
English Translation: The voice that spoke to me,
that one night, that voice of yours,
O you cuckoo,
in whatever world I live,
how could I forget it ever?
Meaning: O cuckoo, the voice with which you spoke to me that night: in whatever world I may live, how could I ever forget it?
Commentary: Summer Poems 195

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On the cuckoo"
This is the third poem on the topic of the cuckoo. The voice with which the cuckoo spoke to him that night the poet will never forget, whatever world may come. It shows a deep attachment that would keep the voice of a single night in his heart for a lifetime.
With sono yo, that night, and ika naru yo, whatever world, the same sound yo is used for one night and for a whole lifetime, setting the voice of a single night within a long span of time. Where the preceding poem envied others their bond for hearing the bird, this one cherishes the voice he himself heard that night.

First line, “kataraishi”: shi is the attributive of the past auxiliary ki, recalling the past experience of the bird singing to him.
Second line, “sono yo no koe wa”: the voice of that one night when he heard the cuckoo.
Third line, “hototogisu”: presented as an address to the bird.
Fourth line, “ika naru yo ni mo”: in whatever world, using yo, world, with the same sound as yo, night, in the second line, to set one night against a lifetime.
Fifth line, “wasuren mono ka”: mono ka is rhetorical, how could I forget, meaning I never will, closing with firm resolve.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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