Kuretake no fushi shigekaranu yo nariseba kono kimi wa tote sashiidenamashi

呉竹のふし繁からぬよなりせば
この君はとてさし出でなまし

Roma-ji: Kuretake no fushi shigekaranu yo nariseba kono kimi wa tote sashiidenamashi
English Translation: Were it a world where
the joints were not so thick
as on the black bamboo,
saying 'This is my lord,'
I'd have stepped forth to serve.
Meaning: Were this a world where troubles were not so many, like the thick joints of black bamboo, I would have stepped forward, saying, "This is my lord," and served.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1420

Headnote: none
Were this a world without so many troubles, like bamboo without thick joints, he would have stepped forward to serve, saying "this is my lord," the poet says.
Since kono kimi, "this lord," was a name for bamboo, kuretake and kono kimi are linked. Fushi pivots on the bamboo's "joints" and life's "troubles," yo on the space between joints and "world," stringing bamboo words deftly to sing of his own choice not to serve because the world is sorrowful.

First line, “kuretake no”: of the black bamboo, leading the bamboo imagery.
Second line, “fushi shigekaranu”: fushi pivots on bamboo "joints" and "troubles."
Third line, “yo nariseba”: yo pivots on the space between joints and "world"; seba is the counterfactual condition.
Fourth line, “kono kimi wa tote”: kono kimi joins a name for bamboo with "my lord."
Fifth line, “sashiidenamashi”: mashi is counterfactual, "I would have stepped forward."
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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