Sora ni naru kokoro wa haru no kasumi nite yo ni araji to mo omoitatsu kana

空になる心は春の霞にて
世にあらじとも思ひたつかな

Roma-ji: Sora ni naru kokoro wa haru no kasumi nite yo ni araji to mo omoitatsu kana
English Translation: Drifting to the sky,
this heart of mine is become
the haze of springtime,
and so rises my resolve
to dwell no more in the world.
Meaning: My heart, drifting off into the sky, is like the haze of spring, and as the haze rises, so rises in me the resolve to live no longer in this world.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 723

Headnote: "Around the time I resolved to leave the world, at Higashiyama, when people composed on the topic of expressing one's thoughts through haze"
This was composed around the time the poet resolved to renounce the world, when people at Higashiyama were writing on the topic of expressing their thoughts through haze. He likens his drifting heart to the spring haze rising into the sky and says that, as the haze rises, so rises his resolve not to remain in this world. The poem conveys Saigyō's heightened feelings on the eve of taking vows.

First line, “sora ni naru”: the heart drifting off, which also suits spring haze spreading through the sky.
Second line, “kokoro wa haru no”: the heart is of spring, leading into the haze.
Third line, “kasumi nite”: is the haze, likening the heart to spring haze and answering the topic.
Fourth line, “yo ni araji to mo”: ji is negative intention, I will not stay in this world, taking the headnote's words into the poem.
Fifth line, “omoitatsu kana”: tatsu is a pivot word joining the rising of haze and making up one's mind, closing with exclamatory kana.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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