Hitorine no tomo ni wa narete kirigirisu naku ne o kikeba monoomoi sou

独り寝の友には馴れてきりぎりす
鳴く音を聞けばもの思ひ添ふ

Roma-ji: Hitorine no tomo ni wa narete kirigirisu naku ne o kikeba monoomoi sou
English Translation: As a friend I know
well in nights of sleeping alone,
yet the cricket's song,
when I listen to its cry,
only adds to all my cares.
Meaning: The cricket has become a familiar friend on the nights I sleep alone, yet when I listen to it singing, my brooding only deepens.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 459

Headnote: "Hearing insects alone"
The topic is hearing insects alone. The poet has grown used to the cricket as a friend on the nights he sleeps alone, yet when he hears it singing, his brooding deepens instead of being soothed. The insect voices that should comfort loneliness only deepen it.
It echoes 451, in which the insects' voices cry along with the poet, and here, while taking the cricket as a friend for one sleeping alone, the poem sings of the opposite side, that its voice adds to his sorrow.

First line, “hitorine no”: of one sleeping alone, answering the topic's alone.
Second line, “tomo ni wa narete”: grown familiar as a friend.
Third line, “kirigirisu”: the cricket.
Fourth line, “naku ne o kikeba”: when I hear it singing, the perfective form with ba.
Fifth line, “monoomoi sou”: brooding grows deeper still.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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