Omoe kokoro hito no araba ya yo ni mo hajimu saritote ya wa to isamu bakari zo

思へ心人のあらばや世にも恥ぢん
さりとてやはと諫むばかりぞ

Roma-ji: Omoe kokoro hito no araba ya yo ni mo hajimu saritote ya wa to isamu bakari zo
English Translation: Think on it, my heart:
if there were others to see,
I'd feel shame before them—
but is that all, I ask, and so
I can only chide myself.
Meaning: Think on it, my heart: if others were watching, I would feel ashamed before the world—yet is that reason enough? I can only keep admonishing myself.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1419

Headnote: none
Think on it, my heart: if others were watching, I would be ashamed before the world, but is that all? he can only admonish himself, the poet says.
It sings of a conflict between a heart that feels shame because of others' eyes and one that asks whether, without others' eyes, all would be well. The poem has hard-to-construe passages and its meaning is unsettled; it is read here as a recluse's self-admonition.

First line, “omoe kokoro”: think on it, my heart, an address to himself; the line has an extra syllable.
Second line, “hito no araba ya”: if there were others; the line has an extra syllable.
Third line, “yo ni mo hajimu”: mu is conjectural, "I would feel shame before the world"; the poem breaks here.
Fourth line, “saritote ya wa to”: ya wa is rhetorical, "yet is that enough?"
Fifth line, “isamu bakari zo”: I can only admonish myself.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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