Hisa ni hete waga nochi no yo o toe yo matsu ato shinobu beki hito mo naki mi zo

久に経て我が後の世を訪へよ松
跡偲ぶべき人もなき身ぞ

Roma-ji: Hisa ni hete waga nochi no yo o toe yo matsu ato shinobu beki hito mo naki mi zo
English Translation: Through the long years, pine,
after I am gone from here,
come and mourn for me—
for I am one who has no one
to remember me when I'm gone.
Meaning: Pine tree, through the long years, mourn for me when I am gone, for I have no one who will remember me after my death.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1358

Headnote: "Seeing a pine tree standing before my hut"
Seeing a pine standing before his hut in Sanuki, Saigyō calls to it: through the long years, pine, pray for me after I am gone, for there is no one to remember me.
In a distant land, making the pine he lives beside his only friend, he entrusts his posthumous rites to its long life. The heart of a lonely recluse and his affection for the pine show through. The next poem also sings of this pine.

First line, “hisa ni hete”: through long years.
Second line, “waga nochi no yo o”: my life after death.
Third line, “toe yo matsu”: tou is to pray for the dead; an imperative to the pine, breaking after the third line.
Fourth line, “ato shinobu beki”: who would cherish my memory.
Fifth line, “hito mo naki mi zo”: zo is emphatic, "I have no one," the inversion giving the reason for the appeal.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Ima yori wa itowaji inochi areba koso kakaru sumai no aware o mo shire
Next Poem: Koko o mata ware sumiukute ukarenaba matsu wa hitori ni naran to suran