Ika nareba chiri ni majirite masukagami tsukauru hito wa kiyomawaruran

いかなれば塵に交じりてます鏡
仕ふる人は清まはるらん

Roma-ji: Ika nareba chiri ni majirite masukagami tsukauru hito wa kiyomawaruran
English Translation: How can it be, then,
that the clear mirror, mingling
here with the dust,
should make all those who serve it
pure and clean of heart?
Meaning: How can it be that those who serve the sacred mirror, though it mingles with the dust, are made pure?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 896

Headnote: "On the theme that softening the light and mingling with the dust is the beginning of forming a bond"
The topic means that when buddhas and bodhisattvas soften their light and mingle with the dusty world to appear as gods, it is the beginning of leading people into a bond with the Buddhist path. How can it be that those who serve the sacred mirror, mingling with the dust, are made pure? the poet asks, wondering at the working of the gods, who purify people while mingling with this dusty world.

First line, “ika nareba”: how can it be, a question.
Second line, “chiri ni majirite”: mingling with the dust of the world, answering 'mingling with the dust.'
Third line, “masukagami”: a clear mirror, the sacred mirror of a shrine, akin to 'softening the light.'
Fourth line, “tsukauru hito wa”: those who serve the god.
Fifth line, “kiyomawaruran”: ran is conjecture about the present; are they made pure? set against the dust of the second line.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Washi no yama ue kurakaranu mine nareba atari o harau ariake no tsuki
Next Poem: Tsumibito no shinuru yo mo naku moyuru hi no takigi naruran koto zo kanashiki