Naki hito o kasumeru sora ni magauru wa michi o hedatsuru kokoro naru beshi

亡き人を霞める空にまがふるは
道を隔つる心なるべし

Roma-ji: Naki hito o kasumeru sora ni magauru wa michi o hedatsuru kokoro naru beshi
English Translation: That the one now gone
should blur into the hazy sky,
it must be the heart
of the haze, that would divide
the path from this world to the next.
Meaning: That the one who has died should be lost in the hazy sky must be the heart of the haze, meaning to divide the path between this world and the next.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 771

Headnote: "On impermanence through haze"
The topic is impermanence expressed through haze. That the one who has died is lost in the hazy sky must be the heart of the haze, meaning to divide the path between this world and the next, the poet says. As the smoke of cremation blurs into the spring haze and vanishes, he feels the distance from the dead.

First line, “naki hito o”: the one who has died.
Second line, “kasumeru sora ni”: into the hazy sky, answering the topic.
Third line, “magauru wa”: magau is to blur, to make indistinguishable.
Fourth line, “michi o hedatsuru”: dividing the path between this world and the next.
Fifth line, “kokoro naru beshi”: beshi is conjectural, it must be the haze's heart.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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