Ika ni sen ukina o ba yo ni tatehatete omoi mo shiranu hito no kokoro o

いかにせん憂き名をば世に立て果てて
思ひも知らぬ人の心を

Roma-ji: Ika ni sen ukina o ba yo ni tatehatete omoi mo shiranu hito no kokoro o
English Translation: What am I to do?
Though I've set the world ablaze
with talk of my sad name,
her heart still does not know
the love I feel for her.
Meaning: What am I to do? I have let my sorry name be bandied all through the world, yet her heart still knows nothing of my love.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1277

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "One hundred and ten love poems"
What am I to do? the poet laments. I have let a sorry name spread through the world, yet her heart still does not know my love.
Though so in love that rumors spread, he cannot reach the one who matters; the world knows but she does not, love's irony.

First line, “ika ni sen”: what shall I do?, a lament breaking after the first line.
Second line, “ukina o ba yo ni”: a sorry name, through the world; the line has an extra syllable.
Third line, “tatehatete”: having let it spread entirely.
Fourth line, “omoi mo shiranu”: not knowing my love.
Fifth line, “hito no kokoro o”: her heart, the inversion giving the object of the first line.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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