Kakute nomi arite hakanaki yo no naka o ushi to ya iwamu aware to ya iwamu

かくてのみありてはかなき世の中を
憂しとや言はむあはれとや言はむ

Roma-ji: Kakute nomi arite hakanaki yo no naka o ushi to ya iwamu aware to ya iwamu
English Translation: Living on like this,
in a world so fleeting and frail,
what shall I call it—
shall I say that it is bitter,
or say that it is sad?
Meaning: This fleeting world, where we only go on living like this—shall I call it bitter, or shall I call it sad?
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 708

Headnote: "On impermanence"
On the theme of impermanence, the poet asks whether to call this fleeting world, where one merely goes on living, bitter or sad, voicing a sense of transience beyond words.

Line 1 means "only thus."
Line 2 means "living, fleeting."
Line 3 means "this world," taking up "the world" at the end of the preceding poem.
Line 4 means "shall I call it bitter?" ya concluded by mu.
Line 5 means "or call it sad?" in parallel with line 4; aware takes up the lament of the preceding poems.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
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