Yama fukami koke no mushiro no ue ni ite nanigokoro naku naku mashira kana

山深み苔の筵の上にゐて
何心なく鳴く猿かな

Roma-ji: Yama fukami koke no mushiro no ue ni ite nanigokoro naku naku mashira kana
English Translation: The mountains so deep,
sitting on a mat of moss
spread out on the ground,
with not a care in its heart,
how the monkey cries away.
Meaning: Deep in the mountains, a monkey sits on a mat of moss, crying away without a care in its heart.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1201

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sent from Kōya to the lay monk Jakunen when he was living in Ōhara"
The fourth of the ten. Deep in the mountains, a monkey sits on a mat of moss, crying without a care in the world.
The moss is seen as a mat and the monkey sitting on it as a person. Its carefree crying implies a contrast with humans full of brooding, showing fondness for simple mountain creatures and a longing for a mind free of thought. In Chinese verse the monkey's cry evokes a traveler's sorrow, but here it is sung as something without care.

First line, “yama fukami”: since the mountains are deep, shared by the series.
Second line, “koke no mushiro no”: a carpet of moss seen as a mat.
Third line, “ue ni ite”: sitting upon it.
Fourth line, “nanigokoro naku”: without a thought; the repeated naku leads into "naku," crying.
Fifth line, “naku mashira kana”: mashira is an old word for monkey; kana is exclamatory.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Yama fukami mado no tsurezure tou mono wa irozukisomuru haji no tachieda
Next Poem: Yama fukami iwa ni shitaruru mizu tamen katsugatsu otsuru tochi hirou hodo