Hakanakute suginishi kata o omou ni mo ima mo sa koso wa asagao no tsuyu

はかなくて過ぎにし方を思ふにも
今もさこそは朝顔の露

Roma-ji: Hakanakute suginishi kata o omou ni mo ima mo sa koso wa asagao no tsuyu
English Translation: Fleeting it has gone,
when I think of all the past
that has slipped away,
the present too must be just so,
dew upon the morning glory.
Meaning: When I think of the past, gone by so fleetingly, I know the present too is just the same, the dew upon a morning glory.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 777

Headnote: "On the theme that all things are impermanent"
The topic is the Buddhist teaching that all things change and nothing endures. Thinking of the past that slipped away so fleetingly, the poet sees that the present too is as fleeting as dew on a morning glory. Both the morning glory and its dew are emblems of what vanishes at once, and the poem states that past and present alike are impermanent.

First line, “hakanakute”: fleetingly.
Second line, “suginishi kata o”: the time gone by.
Third line, “omou ni mo”: when I think of it.
Fourth line, “ima mo sa koso wa”: sa means just so; the present is as fleeting as the past.
Fifth line, “asagao no tsuyu”: ending on a noun, the quickly withering morning glory and its vanishing dew doubling the sense of transience.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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