Hitoshiman to omoi mo mienu yo ni areba sue ni sa koso wa ōnusa no sora

ひとしまんと思ひも見えぬ世にあれば
末にさこそは大幣の空

Roma-ji: Hitoshiman to omoi mo mienu yo ni areba sue ni sa koso wa ōnusa no sora
English Translation: Since this is a world
where no one seems even to wish
to be as others are,
surely in the time to come—
a sky like the great wand's streamers.
Meaning: Since this is a world where not even the wish to be like others can be seen, surely the days ahead will be as uncertain as a sky of the great purification wand.
Commentary: One Hundred Poems 1510

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Ten Poems of Reflection"
The eighth of the ten poems of reflection. In a world where not even the wish to be as others can be seen, he fears the days ahead will be uncertain indeed.
The hitoshiman of the first line and the ōnusa no sora of the last are hard to construe, and the sense is not clear; here it is taken to mean that in a world without even the wish to be like others, the future will be as unreliable as the great wand. The ōnusa was a large purification wand, pulled at by many hands and so a figure for something one cannot rely on. It seems to be a reflection anxious for the world's future.

First line, “hitoshiman to”: hard to construe, taken as "to be like others"; the line has an extra syllable.
Second line, “omoi mo mienu”: not even that wish is seen.
Third line, “yo ni areba”: since it is such a world.
Fourth line, “sue ni sa koso wa”: sa koso means surely, "surely in the days ahead."
Fifth line, “ōnusa no sora”: ōnusa is the great purification wand, taken as a figure of unreliability; ending on a noun.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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