Harahara to otsuru namida zo aware naru tamarazu mono no kanashikaru beshi

はらはらと落つる涙ぞあはれなる
たまらずものの悲しかるべし

Roma-ji: Harahara to otsuru namida zo aware naru tamarazu mono no kanashikaru beshi
English Translation: Falling, falling down,
how moving the tears are as
they spill from the eyes;
unable to hold them in,
the heart must be filled with grief.
Meaning: How moving are the tears that fall and fall; unable to hold them back, the heart must surely be in sorrow.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1032

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
How moving are the tears that fall and fall; unable to hold them back, the heart must be in sorrow, the poet says. Drawing on the tradition of likening tears to jewels, he expresses a heart that cannot contain its grief, as beads that cannot stay spill down.

First line, “harahara to”: falling one after another, of tears.
Second line, “otsuru namida zo”: the falling tears; zo is answered by naru in the third line.
Third line, “aware naru”: deeply moving; the poem breaks here.
Fourth line, “tamarazu mono no”: tamarazu is a pivot word joining jewels of tears that do not stay and being unable to bear it.
Fifth line, “kanashikaru beshi”: beshi is conjectural; it must be sorrowful.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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