Furusato wa mishi yo ni mo nizu asenikeri izuchi mukashi no hito yukiniken

古里は見し世にも似ずあせにけり
いづち昔の人行きにけん

Roma-ji: Furusato wa mishi yo ni mo nizu asenikeri izuchi mukashi no hito yukiniken
English Translation: The old village now
is not as it was when I
saw it, faded so;
where, I wonder, have they gone,
the people of the old days?
Meaning: The old village has faded, no longer like the place I knew; where, I wonder, have the people of the old days gone?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1030

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
The old village has faded, no longer like the place I knew; where have the people of old gone? the poet asks, taking up the ruined garden of the preceding poem to express longing for a changed home and the people who are gone.

First line, “furusato wa”: the old village.
Second line, “mishi yo ni mo nizu”: unlike the days when I saw it.
Third line, “asenikeri”: asu is to fade and decline; it has faded; the poem breaks here.
Fourth line, “izuchi mukashi no”: izuchi is where.
Fifth line, “hito yukiniken”: ken is conjecture about the past; where have they gone?
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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