Kai ari na kimi ga misode ni ōwarete kokoro ni awanu koto mo naki yo wa

かひありな君が御袖に覆はれて
心にあはぬこともなき世は

Roma-ji: Kai ari na kimi ga misode ni ōwarete kokoro ni awanu koto mo naki yo wa
English Translation: How worthwhile it is—
sheltered by the sleeves
of my gracious lord,
in a reign where nothing comes
that the heart cannot agree with.
Meaning: How worthwhile life is in this reign, sheltered beneath our lord's sleeves, where nothing fails to accord with the heart.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1197

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When a shell contest was to be held at the palace, composed on someone's behalf"
How worthwhile life is, the poet says, in this reign sheltered by the lord's sleeves, where nothing goes against the heart.
Placed at the end of the shell-contest series, it pivots kai on "worth" and "shell," and awanu on "not agreeing" and the "matching" of shells, rounding off the occasion. Being covered by the lord's sleeves expresses the peaceful age under his favor. The shell-contest poems, beginning at 1189 with calm bays, close here with celebration of a tranquil reign.

First line, “kai ari na”: kai pivots on "worth" and "shell"; na is exclamatory, breaking after the first line.
Second line, “kimi ga misode ni”: under the lord's sleeves, his favor.
Third line, “ōwarete”: covered, protected.
Fourth line, “kokoro ni awanu”: awanu pivots on "not agreeing with the heart" and the matching of shells in the contest.
Fifth line, “koto mo naki yo wa”: a reign with nothing of the sort, the inversion giving the reason it is worthwhile.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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