かくしつつ今はとならむ時にこそ
悔しきことのかひもなからめ
悔しきことのかひもなからめ
- Roma-ji
-
Kaku shitsutsu ima wa to naramu toki ni koso kuyashiki koto no kai mo nakarame
- English Translation
-
Passing days like this,
when at last the moment comes
to say "now it ends,"
then it will be too late to
find any use in my regrets
- Meaning
- Going on like this day after day, when the final moment comes at last, there will be no use in regretting it then.
- Commentary
-
Book Ten Miscellaneous Poems II 356
Going on idly like this, the poet warns himself that regretting it when the moment of death arrives will be of no use at all. Reflecting on a heart that keeps putting off devotion for the life to come, the poem urges seeking the way while there is still time.
The first line, "kaku shitsutsu," uses the continuative "tsutsu": going on like this.
The second line, "ima wa to naramu," uses the attributive conjectural "mu": when it comes to the final moment.
The third line, "toki ni koso," singles out that moment with "koso."
The fourth line, "kuyashiki koto no," refers to things to be regretted.
The final line, "kai mo nakarame," closes "koso" with "me," the perfective of the conjectural "mu," a kakari-musubi: there will be no use in it.
- Author
- Retired Emperor Kazan
- Source
- Shika Wakashu
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