Inishie wa tsuiishi yado mo aru mono o nani o ka kyō no shirushi ni wa sen

いにしへはついゐし宿もあるものを
何をか今日のしるしにはせん

Roma-ji: Inishie wa tsuiishi yado mo aru mono o nani o ka kyō no shirushi ni wa sen
English Translation: In the days of old
there was the house where she sat
and wrote on its wall;
what can we take today
as a token left of her?
Meaning: In the old days there was the house where she sat and wrote, yet what can we take today as a token of her?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 799

Headnote: "At the old home where the Lady Suō had written 'that I too, under the eaves,' when people expressed their thoughts"
At the site of the old house where the Lady Suō had written 'that I too, under the eaves,' people each expressed their thoughts, and this is the poet's. When she left the house she had long lived in, she is said to have written on a pillar 'Sumiwabite / ware sae noki no / shinobugusa / shinobu katagata / shigeki yado kana.' In the old days there was the house where she lived, yet what can we take today as a token of her? he says.

First line, “inishie wa”: in the days of old.
Second line, “tsuiishi yado mo”: tsuiiru is to sit kneeling; the house where she lived.
Third line, “aru mono o”: mono o is concessive, there was, and yet.
Fourth line, “nani o ka kyō no”: the question particle ka is answered by n in the fifth line.
Fifth line, “shirushi ni wa sen”: what shall we take as a token, lamenting that nothing remains to recall the past.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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