Asamashi ya ika naru yue no mukui nite kakaru koto shi mo aru yo naruran

あさましやいかなるゆゑの報いにて
かかる事しもある世なるらん

Roma-ji: Asamashi ya ika naru yue no mukui nite kakaru koto shi mo aru yo naruran
English Translation: How shocking it is!
By what karma from the past,
in recompense for what,
in this world of ours, I wonder,
could such a thing come to be?
Meaning: How shocking it is! For what karma in a past life, I wonder, has such a thing come to pass in this world?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1231

Headnote: "This too I sent along on the same occasion"
Presented to Retired Emperor Sutoku along with the preceding poem. How shocking it is! For what past karma, the poet asks, has such a thing come to pass in this world?
Trying to grasp the unthinkable fate of an emperor sent into exile as the retribution of past deeds, he frankly expresses an astonishment and grief that still cannot comprehend it.

First line, “asamashi ya”: how shocking, a declaration breaking after the first line.
Second line, “ika naru yue no”: of what cause.
Third line, “mukui nite”: as retribution for past karma.
Fourth line, “kakaru koto shi mo”: shi mo stresses "such a thing as this."
Fifth line, “aru yo naruran”: ran conjectures a cause, "why is it a world where it happens?"
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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