Nanigoto ni tomaru kokoro no arikereba sara ni shimo mata yo no itowashiki

何事にとまる心のありければ
さらにしもまた世の厭はしき

Roma-ji: Nanigoto ni tomaru kokoro no arikereba sara ni shimo mata yo no itowashiki
English Translation: To what thing, I wonder,
did my heart still cling so fast,
that once more, now,
all over again I find
this world hateful to me?
Meaning: What was it that my heart still clung to, that now, all over again, this world should seem so hateful to me?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 729

Headnote: "Expressing my thoughts"
The topic is the expression of one's feelings. Though the poet has supposedly cast off the world, it must be because his heart still clung to something that the world now seems hateful to him all over again. In the very return of this loathing he finds an attachment he has not yet severed.

First line, “nanigoto ni”: to what thing, a question.
Second line, “tomaru kokoro no”: tomaru is to stay, to cling.
Third line, “arikereba”: because there was, giving the reason.
Fourth line, “sara ni shimo mata”: sara ni is anew; shimo is emphatic.
Fifth line, “yo no itowashiki”: the world so hateful, closing in the attributive to answer the question of the first line.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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