Madoiteshi kokoro o tare mo wasuretsutsu hikaeraru naru koto no uki kana

惑ひてし心を誰も忘れつつ
ひかへらるなることの憂きかな

Roma-ji: Madoiteshi kokoro o tare mo wasuretsutsu hikaeraru naru koto no uki kana
English Translation: The heart that once strayed,
everyone, it seems, forgets,
forgets it again;
and that still they are held back—
how sorrowful a thing it is!
Meaning: Everyone keeps forgetting the heart that once went astray, and that they are still held back by the world—how sorrowful it is.
Commentary: One Hundred Poems 1533

Headnote: "Ten Buddhist Poems: Three on the Dreams of King Kṛkin"
The first of the ten Buddhist poems, and the first of three on the dreams of King Kṛkin. It is painful that everyone forgets the heart that once went astray and is still held back by the world.
The dreams of King Kṛkin tell of an ancient Indian king who saw ten strange dreams, which the Buddha explained as signs of the state of the Dharma in the latter days. The poem seems to draw on one of these dreams, lamenting the hearts of latter-day people who forget their delusion and are still held fast by worldly attachment.

First line, “madoiteshi”: teshi marks completion and past, "that once went astray."
Second line, “kokoro o tare mo”: that heart, everyone.
Third line, “wasuretsutsu”: tsutsu marks repetition, "forgetting again and again."
Fourth line, “hikaeraru naru”: hikau is to hold back, raru passive, and naru hearsay, "they are held back, it is said."
Fifth line, “koto no uki kana”: kana marks exclamation, "how sorrowful."
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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