Yo no naka o sutete sute'enu kokochi shite miyako hanarenu waga mi narikeri

世の中を捨てて捨て得ぬ心地して
都離れぬ我が身なりけり

Roma-ji: Yo no naka o sutete sute'enu kokochi shite miyako hanarenu waga mi narikeri
English Translation: Though I've cast aside
this world, it feels to me
I can't cast it off—
I am one who never parts
from the capital, it seems.
Meaning: Though I have renounced the world, I feel as though I cannot renounce it, and I am, it seems, one who cannot leave the capital behind.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1417

Headnote: none
Though he has renounced the world, he feels he cannot cast it off, and he is one who cannot leave the capital, the poet says.
Following the preceding poem, he reflects on his incomplete renunciation. The doubled sutete sute'enu expresses well the contradiction of failing to cast off what one has supposedly cast away. It is known as a poem that sums up Saigyō's view of renunciation.

First line, “yo no naka o”: the world.
Second line, “sutete sute'enu”: cast off yet unable to cast off; the repeated sute stresses the contradiction.
Third line, “kokochi shite”: feeling so.
Fourth line, “miyako hanarenu”: unable to leave the capital.
Fifth line, “waga mi narikeri”: keri marks realization, "such is my self."
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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