Mi o sutsuru hito wa makoto ni sutsuru ka wa sutenu hito koso sutsuru narikere - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

身を捨つる人はまことに捨つるかは
捨てぬ人こそ捨つるなりけれ

Roma-ji: Mi o sutsuru hito wa makoto ni sutsuru ka wa sutenu hito koso sutsuru narikere
English Translation: Those who cast away
their very selves — do they in truth
cast themselves away?
It is those who do not cast
who are casting themselves away
Meaning: Do those who renounce the world truly throw themselves away? No — it is those who do not renounce it who are throwing themselves away.
Commentary: Book Ten Miscellaneous Poems II 372

The poem asks whether those who have taken the tonsure and left the world truly cast themselves away, and answers that, on the contrary, it is those who do not leave the world who cast themselves away. Repeating "sutsu" (to cast away), it vividly states the paradox that renunciation is the true way to save oneself.
The poem is said to be by Saigyo and is known as expressing his thoughts around the time he took the tonsure.

The first line, "mi o sutsuru," refers to renouncing the world and taking the tonsure.
The second line, "hito wa makoto ni," singles out such people with "wa," adding "truly."
The third line, "sutsuru ka wa," is rhetorical with "ka wa": do they really cast themselves away? No. A break falls after the third line.
The fourth line, "sutenu hito koso," uses the attributive negative and "koso" to stress: those who do not renounce.
The final line, "sutsuru narikere," closes "koso" with the copula "nari" and perfective exclamatory "keri," a kakari-musubi: it is they who cast themselves away.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shika Wakashu
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