Iitatete urami wa ika ni tsurakaran omoeba ushi ya hito no kokoro wa

言ひ立てて恨みはいかにつらからん
思へば憂しや人の心は

Roma-ji: Iitatete urami wa ika ni tsurakaran omoeba ushi ya hito no kokoro wa
English Translation: If I spoke it out,
how bitter would my grudge become,
how hard to endure—
when I think of it, how cruel
is the heart of the one I love.
Meaning: If I were to voice my grudge openly, how bitter it would be! When I think of it, how cruel her heart is.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1329

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "One hundred and ten love poems"
If he voiced his grudge openly, how bitter it would be; thinking of it, how cruel her heart is, the poet says.
Resenting the beloved's coldness yet afraid that speaking would only break the bond, he cannot say it, a conflict that leaves him to keep resentment hidden in his heart.

First line, “iitatete”: saying it outright.
Second line, “urami wa ika ni”: my grudge, how.
Third line, “tsurakaran”: n is conjectural, "how bitter it would be"; the poem breaks here.
Fourth line, “omoeba ushi ya”: ya is exclamatory, "when I think of it, how cruel."
Fifth line, “hito no kokoro wa”: her heart, the inversion naming what is cruel.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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