Yoshi ya kimi mukashi no tama no yuka to te mo kakaran nochi wa nani ni ka wa sen

よしや君昔の玉の床とても
かからん後は何にかはせん

Roma-ji: Yoshi ya kimi mukashi no tama no yuka to te mo kakaran nochi wa nani ni ka wa sen
English Translation: Ah well, my good lord,
though it was a jeweled throne
in the days gone by,
now that it has come to this,
what good would it do you now?
Meaning: Ah, my lord, though once it was a jeweled throne, now that things have come to this, what use can it be to you?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1355

Headnote: "Visiting the tomb at a place called Shiramine"
Composed when Saigyō visited the tomb of Retired Emperor Sutoku at Shiramine in Sanuki. My lord, though you once sat upon a jeweled throne, what use is that now that things have come to this?
Teaching that even an emperor's glory is empty before death, he prays that the emperor's spirit cast off attachment to this world and attain Buddhahood. The poem is also famous for its use in Ueda Akinari's Ugetsu Monogatari, in the tale "Shiramine," where Saigyō meets the spirit of Sutoku.

First line, “yoshi ya kimi”: yoshi ya means "though, ah well"; kimi addresses Sutoku.
Second line, “mukashi no tama no”: of the fine jewels of old.
Third line, “yuka to te mo”: tama no yuka is the throne; to te mo means "even if it was."
Fourth line, “kakaran nochi wa”: after it has come to this, his death.
Fifth line, “nani ni ka wa sen”: ka wa is rhetorical, "what would it avail? Nothing."
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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